AEA's Sarahjane Widdowson provides an insight into the European Pathway to Zero Waste (EP0W) project findings.

1. Barriers to Business
Waste Infrastructure
Development
Sarahjane Widdowson

2. Today’s presentation
Barriers and Solutions to Business Waste
Infrastructure Development
• Introductions
• Project methodology
• Industry feedback – key barriers and solutions
• Next steps

3. European Pathway to Zero Waste
• A market based approach to landfill diversion in the South
East of England
• Researching and piloting innovative ways to work towards a
zero waste economy in the South East: sharing
achievements and lessons across the UK and with relevant
EU Member States
• 8 Work Streams - Support for waste sector
infrastructure development – Action 5
• LIFE+ demonstration project running until March 2013

4. Support for waste sector
infrastructure development
• To demonstrate how the development of
waste infrastructure can be de-risked and
supported through partnership working
– the means to create appropriate provision of
high grade consolidation, recycling and recovery
infrastructure and systems for business waste in
the South East of England.

5. How much is landfilled?
In 2009 businesses within L&SE regions sent 2.3
Million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of business
waste to landfill.
Source: Defra (2010), “Commercial and Industrial Waste Survey 2009”

6. Pushing waste up the hierarchy

7. The project
1. Desktop research
• Scale of the issue, documented barriers and solutions
2. Stakeholder engagement
• Industry consultation via workshops
• Barriers tested and potential solutions discussed
• Definitions debated – waste infrastructure
3. Final report to provide information for key
decision makers in London & South East
• Suggest practical solutions and key actors

8. The workshops
• Attendees from all sectors Type of Stakeholder Number registered
– EA, WRAP, GLA, LWARB, Public Sector Bodies 55
DEFRA, CIWM, DCLG, BIS, Waste Management 46
London Councils, Green Technology Provider 16
Party, LCRN, SE7 planners, Energy Sector 25
Confederation Paper Industry Expert 73
Industries, etc. Planner 13
Academic 5
• 17 Workshops
Investor 31
– Additional industry Local Authority 26
speakers Total 290

9. Workshop findings
• 5 themes
– Public Perception
– Planning
– Finance
– Market Conditions
– Waste Technologies
• Selection of Barriers and Solutions
– All documented in the report
• Views dependent on sector role

10. Planning – still a barrier?
Contested: Kings Lynn EfW, Norfolk

11. Perceived barriers tested
• Adversarial planning system
– Clearly improved over the last two years
• Protracted process – high costs
– Small operators agreed costs prohibitive
– Large operators account for time and cost
• Frequency of appeal (planning for appeal)
– Still a concern but seen as a less relevant issue
today

12. Is politics the biggest pressure?
• Influence of political pressure
– Populist local decisions agreed as an obstacle
• Public perception – NIMBY
– Early, transparent engagement reduces the issue
• Waste development plans
– Not aligned with other plans
– industry not sufficiently consulted, but also
industry not engaging early enough

13. Potential solutions
• Diligent application preparation, liaise with planning officers,
carefully assess site risk
• Provide a liaison and information support for planning
committees
• Clearly understand the consequences of political refusal i.e.
landfill costs
• Integrate waste plans with local plans to co-locate facilities for
district heating
• Opportunities?
– Developers, Industry associations, Planning committees and officers
– Training (member training, new technologies), Support for SMEs
(planning applications), Partnership working (cross border co-operation)

14. Finance – is waste an attractive
investment?

15. Perceived barriers tested
• Difficult to access funding – priority issue
– SMEs/new entrants don’t know where to go
• Waste projects perceived as high risk & low
return by some funders
– Mixed views depends on technology & project
• Lack of debt finance available
– Fact of life – only equity available. Need to
manage expectations

16. Will access to finance ease?
• Income uncertainty e.g. incentives
(ROCs/FITs/RHI) and feedstock
– One of the biggest barriers
• Cost of due diligence – not scalable
– A barrier for SMEs
• Strong business cases required – favours
existing players
– A barrier for new entrants

17. Potential solutions
• Network opportunities required for funders/developers
• Different funding models –debt, mezzanine, equity, guarantees,
crowd sourcing?
– Need to manage expectations regarding access to debt finance
• Information/support on gaining access to finance
• Consistency preferred for incentives (assist business planning)
Training/support for business plan development
• Opportunities?
– Funders, operators, Government, industry associations
– Networking events – due in the Autumn
– WRAP Business Resource Efficiency Team – business planning support
– LWARB funding, GIB

18. Market conditions

19. Perceived barriers tested
• Varied and unstable feedstock (quantity,
quality, composition) – key issue
– The lack of good quality data/info on business
waste composition and arisings seen as a key
barrier (Commercial confidentiality and data
collection issues)
• Fluctuating gate fees and income
– Market turbulence is an obstacle, can make
funders nervous

20. What role should LAs play?
• Global commodity markets
– The industry can always produce marketable
products
– Overseas competition on recycling quality
• Inflexibility of some LA contracts around
business waste
– Becoming less relevant since abolition of LATS
– Who takes the finance risk of additional capacity
for commercial waste?

21. Potential solutions
• Engage with manufacturers to communicate material specs for
high grade recycling, e.g. eliminate over-composite packaging
• Work with industry to expand End of Waste criteria, creating a
greater variety of potential products
• Recognise waste as a product: sometimes it will have to travel
to market beyond the boundaries of the proximity principle.
• Opportunities?
– Operators, Wider industry and society
– Support/training on development of robust business cases
– Support for quality outputs

22. How do we unlock the barriers?
Business Case
Feedstock (market
Identify Need Site Technology Funding
identification)
Application
Design Consultation Planning Permitting
Infrastructure Delivery
Engage Secure contracts Build Operate

24. Unlocking the barriers
• Overcoming barriers may require addressing
multiple barriers
– Relative impact different for each facility type
– Common barriers across all facilities regardless of
type, size and location
– Common solutions available – e.g. data

25. Summary
• Opportunities available
– Need to concentrate further up the hierarchy
• Recycling, reuse and prevention activities
– Develop partnerships to address challenges
together
• Connections made during the workshops
– Training and engagement common themes
• Quick wins available
– Need to focus on tangible outcomes

27. Next steps
• Still time to give us your views
– EPOW - Professional Services Clinic in Hall 20
– AEA stand 20 L69
• Report to be peer reviewed
– Representative stakeholders
• Publication Autumn 2012

28. Thank You – Workshop hosts
• SCA/DS Smith MRF – Workshop speakers
• Closed Loop Recycling – Ann Bartaby, Terence O’Rourke
• Agrivert AD Cassington – Dr Stephen Wise, Shanks Waste Management
• WRG RE3 – Peter Marshall, SITA
• Viridor Grundon Lakeside EfW
• WRG Allington EfW
• Veolia Marchwood EfW
• The City of London WTS
• SWEEEP
• Cory Riverside Resource Recovery
• Viridor Ford MRF
• Veolia Chineham ERF
• Bywaters MRF
• North London Eco Park
• Veolia Southwark Integrated Waste Facility

29. Sarahjane Widdowson
Principal Consultant, AEA
Sarahjane.widdowson@aeat.co.uk
www.environment-agency.gov.uk/EPOW