LAWR

June 2015 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 13 ANAEROBIC DIGESTION especially as budgets are cut further and communication campaigns simply become a nice to have. Expensive service Whether separate food waste collections save money is a moot point. The report used by the Conservatives to bash Labour's landfill ban proposals estimated a total of £115m in collection and treatment costs over a five-year period for local authorities in England. Communication and enforcement costs to ensure full compliance with a landfill ban by 2020 would be £4m. Some councils have trialled collections and decided not to proceed. In January last year, Wychavon, in Worcestershire, decided to withdraw its "expensive and underused service". Less than one in five residents used the £550,000 year service; and in a survey 88% said it should be dropped as the council looked to save £4m. However, collections were fortnightly with "waste being sent one week to the IVC at Dymock and the second week to landfill". As such, it's "little wonder that the council found it saved little on disposal – or that many residents opted out", says Eunomia's Jones. "You save no money and don't win public support by landfilling separately collected food." Given that disposal costs, whether landfill or incineration, are around £100 per tonne and AD gate fees are now well under £35, an authority could spend a lot on collecting food waste and still benefit financially, Jones continues. "Things are more complicated in England's two tier authorities, where collection costs are borne by the districts and disposal savings accrue to the county. Counties may [therefore] need to share more with districts if we're to see food waste collections extend more widely," he says. In 2013/14, 29% of English councils offered separate food waste collections, up from 26% the previous year according to figures from Wrap. In Wales, where separate food waste collections have reportedly added around five or six percentage points to recycling rates, the figure is 95% (see page 14). In Northern Ireland it stood at 4%. There, mixed collections of food and garden waste (58%), are much more popular – and this is where the new regulations could bring additional costs. As arc21's Ricky Burnett explains on page 19, changing collection services won't come cheap – net costs are "likely to be" £26m over 10 years for the six councils in arc21 that cover 60% of " It's taken four years and a lot of money to get to this point in Scotland " Externally-mounted Easy to maintain No Process downtime Increased Gas Production Substrate fully chopped and mixed Landia GasMix A ground-breaking mixing system for anaerobic digesters! Landia GasMix is externally-mounted, which ensures minimal maintenance costs and no loss of biogas production during servicing. There are no moving parts inside the tank. Landia GasMix can be installed in virtually any type of digester to handle virtually any type of feedstock. The system's unique mode of operation ensures that the contents of the whole digester are mixed properly to give a highly positive effect on biogas production. SEE US AT UK AD & BIOGAS 2015 STAND B101 www.landiagasmix.co.uk

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