to read the full report - Ecolateral by Peter Jones

Evaluation of Opportunities for Converting Indigenous UK Wastes to Wastes and Energy
AEA/ED45551/Issue 1
technologies available, the current treatment technology gap, assumed waste growth and growth
in the capture of bio-wastes. This study provides a detailed analysis of the Regional position,
however many regions have not undertaken such studies, and whether they do so in the future
will depend on the regional priorities.
Conclusion
The UK produces significant amounts of food waste, the potential value of which is only just being
realised. While MSW food waste arisings are considerable, estimated to be 5.4 million tonnes,
Commercial and Industrial food waste arisings are estimated to be even higher at 6.9 million tonnes per
annum.
WRAP, whose recent campaign ‘Love food, hate waste’ focused on household food waste, have
identified that when food waste collection schemes are set up the volume collected is often significantly
less than that anticipated – believed to be due to people reducing their food waste once they can see how
much is being wasted.
5.3 Tallow 131
Background
Tallow is an animal fat obtained by rendering animal carcases and waste from the food industry and as
such its arisings would be considered under industrial waste arisings. Rendering is the process by which
animal carcases and trimmings are crushed and heated to drive off the water, sterilise the material and
allow the fats (tallow) and meat and bone meal (MBM) to be separated. Rendering is an energy intensive
process and the industry has traditionally used some of the tallow it produces as fuel.
Current Arisings
The size of the UK tallow arisings is dependent on UK meat production, which effectively limits the tallow
available to the UK to around 250,000 tonnes per annum, from 2 million tonnes of animal waste. The
industry processes the by-products of approximately 2 million cattle, 10 million pigs, 14 million sheep and
800 million chickens annually. The amount of tallow produced in the UK has been stable for a number of
years, and is unlikely to change significantly in the foreseeable future.
Estimates of the amount of tallow produced range from 200kT per annum to 290kT per annum depending
on the definition of what is included and the reference year. 132 The consensus is that 220 – 240 kT is
available in principle for industrial use.
Currently all tallow produced is used for some economic purpose. None is disposed to landfill. The main
uses are dictated by the category of tallow under the Animal By-products Regulations: 133
Category 1 can only be used for burning or fuel production
Category 2 can be used for industrial applications
Category 3 can be used for human contact (e.g. in soaps and cosmetics).
This influences the current uses: burning of (mainly category 1) tallow in boilers by the rendering industry
to raise process heat and the use of category 2 and 3 tallow by the oleochemicals and soap industry. A
breakdown of these uses is shown in Figure 14 (Uniqema 2008), demonstrating that 43% of the tallow is
used as a fuel source, and 33% for industrial applications. These figures exclude exports.
131 Advice on the Economic and Environmental Impacts of Government Support for Biodiesel Production from Tallow, Report for the Department of
Transport, 2008.
132 Argent Energy, 2008; CIA2008; UKRA 2008; Uniqema 2008.
133 See Chapter 2 for an explanation of these terminologies.
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