October 2021 - January 2022
WASTE MANAGEMENT
The fight T for common sense and a reasoned debate Pressure continues to grow for the introduction of thermal recycling to process unrecyclable waste
he issue refuses to die despite efforts by government agencies to discredit the notion ahead of policy directions due next year. Early indications suggest the government line is likely to follow the EU Green Deal which holds that “incineration causes lock-in effects and hinders both material recycling and waste production”. The EU refuses to fund such projects. Critics claim that the result of discouraging incineration for material which cannot be recycled has the opposite effect and “locks in landfills”, especially in poorer countries where
there is no money available for waste to energy programmes. “New Zealand is in the middle of a landfill waste crisis, as was seen with the 2019 Fox River landfill environmental disaster,” says South Island Resource Recovery Limited (SIRRL) director Paul Taylor. “Waste disposed at municipal landfills grew by 48 percent between 2009 and 2019.” SIRRL is a joint venture bringing together New Zealand expertise with Spanish and Chinese waste technology. Dubbed Project Kea, the joint venture is looking at
An artist's impression of a proposed waste-to-energy plant in Waimate, South Island
26 infrastructurenews.co.nz
