LAWR

RDF RDF export: A long-term trend or temporary solution? The export of waste used as feedstock to create refuse derived fuel (RDF) from the UK to other European countries continues to grow in terms of tonnage and popularity as evidenced through the release of the lat- est Environment Agency (EA) data. Here, Linda Ovens analyses the current RDF trends. he reasons are becom- ing well understood, mainly that it provides a cheaper waste dispos- al route then landfill- ing in the UK and there is a shortage of UK EfW facilities with spare capacity that are able to offer a competitive price. In 2013, for the CIWM (Chartered Institution of Wastes Management) study into the 'Practice of Exporting RDF and SRF', stakeholders spoke of the increase in confidence in RDF exporting evidenced through the obvious increase in tonnage but also the increase in the length of contracts being signed up to by UK companies. In 2011, these were predominantly single load "tester" con- tracts and at most one year contract terms. In 2012, one-to-three-year con- tracts began to emerge. At this time there was concern in the market that the RDF export trend might be a short-term bubble and that in future years, for example in EU landfill diversion target years such as 2020, the spare capacity would be required by the home country, or its nearest neighbours. In 2013, as the CIWM report was being written, it became apparent that longer five-to-ten-year contracts were emerging that could secure capacity beyond that magic 2020 target year but there may however be a limit on the optimum contract length. The risk of cost increases and the need for contractual change with new legislation becomes greater as the con- tract length extends and there are a number of "unknowns" on the horizon that could have a big impact in the next few years. These include the definition of "pre- treatment" for exported RDF, permit- ting requirements¹, fluctuations in for- eign exchange rates, the possible intro- duction of incineration taxes (similar to the one recently introduced for domes- tic incineration in the Netherlands), the impact of measures to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions within fuel oils used on vessels operating in the North and Baltic Seas in 2015 and 2020² and poten- tially that the UK may choose to leave the EU in 2015. It may be that five-to-ten-year con- tracts are only suitable for the compa- nies controlling sufficiently large vol- umes of RDF from secure domestic contracts, where the current low offtake prices mitigate these risks. For the majority, the one-to-three-year contract terms are more than sufficient for their needs. In March 2014, Defra published a Call for Evidence on RDF practices, aiming to further understand this market and the results of this evidence gathering exercise have just been published. The majority of conclusions and 18 Local Authority Waste & Recycling January 2015 T In 2012, one-to-three-year contract terms started to emerge. 1) Brought about by changes to the BREF (the Best Available Technique Reference Document) Guidance for Incineration. 2) Brought about by the regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships (Annex VI of International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from ships (MARPOL). Source information

• Cover