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26<br />
Evaluation of Opportunities for Converting Indigenous UK Wastes <strong>to</strong> Wastes and Energy<br />
AEA/ED45551/Issue 1<br />
3 UK Waste Arisings<br />
In this chapter we bring <strong>to</strong>ge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> current overall estimates of how much waste is produced annually in<br />
<strong>the</strong> UK, its composition and source. These basic figures are fundamental <strong>to</strong> an understanding of <strong>the</strong><br />
energy potential of <strong>the</strong> waste resource and <strong>the</strong> types of technologies that could be used <strong>to</strong> access it. We<br />
also discuss future trends and a methodology of waste categorisation that is more appropriate for energy<br />
use.<br />
3.1 Waste Categories Investigated<br />
The UK Government and <strong>the</strong> EU commonly group waste arisings in<strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> following categories:<br />
• Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)<br />
• Commercial and Industrial (C&I)<br />
• Construction and Demolition (C&D)<br />
• Bio-Solids (previously known as Sewage Sludge)<br />
• Agricultural Wastes<br />
• Dredged material<br />
• Minerals (Mining and Quarrying)<br />
While this level of breakdown is useful for identifying quantities and trends, it does not provide a break<br />
down for many of <strong>the</strong> waste streams that are of particular interest for this study.<br />
In this study <strong>the</strong> wastes that have been identified as having <strong>the</strong> potential for conversion <strong>to</strong> fuels and<br />
energy have been subdivided as follows:<br />
• Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW)<br />
• Commercial and Industrial wastes (C&I)<br />
• Construction and Demolition (C&D)<br />
• Bio-Solids (Sewage Sludge)<br />
• Agricultural<br />
o Wet residues<br />
o Dry residues<br />
• Forestry Residues<br />
Mineral and dredging wastes have not been covered, as <strong>the</strong>se waste streams have no practicable<br />
content that would be available for conversion <strong>to</strong> energy or fuels.<br />
A range of waste materials that are highly suitable for energy but <strong>the</strong>ir arisings are dispersed over several<br />
categories. An emerging trend is <strong>to</strong> combine resources from several streams as feeds<strong>to</strong>ck for an energy<br />
plant. We have considered <strong>the</strong>se dispersed arisings as a set of new subcategories. These are:<br />
• Food waste – arising from MSW and C&I waste<br />
• Wood waste – arising from MSW, C&I waste and C&D waste<br />
• Tallow – arising from C&I waste<br />
• Textile – arising from MSW and C&I waste<br />
• Paper and board – arising from MSW and C&I waste.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> following Sections <strong>the</strong>se waste streams and materials have been described in terms of a definition,<br />
<strong>the</strong> composition of each stream, and <strong>the</strong> arisings <strong>by</strong> region.