International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

4. Biologically (aerobic), with residues being stabilised prior to landfilling /
landscaping (where of requisite quality).
Various different configurations are possible.
The relative performance of such facilities is likely to be quite good irrespective of the
assumptions made. The combination of materials recovery, energy recovery and
stabilisation of biodegradable fractions is likely to give favourable outcomes as long
as the abatement of relevant pollutants is efficient and as long as the materials
recovered are of sufficient quality to be put to use in ways which displace materials of
a similar quality to those being recovered.
The key issues for such facilities are likely to be their costs, and these will be
determined to a considerable degree by various policy-related instruments in future.
The fact that such processes are relatively new (albeit that digestion of mixed waste
has taken place for decades) is likely to mean that policies are not yet well-adapted to
accommodate them. Indeed, since they rely on various ‘outlets’ for their outputs,
there are risks associated with these technologies in the current policy environment.
It should also be said that such processes are still considered quite novel, and have
not been without their technical problems (so there is a technology risk to be
considered as well).
61.3 Relevant Studies
A number of studies have looked at the costs and benefits of waste treatments, but
few have looked at residual waste treatments other than landfill and incineration.
Accordingly, the majority of the studies presented here focus on landfill and
incineration. However, as shown in the list below, two reports assessing the costs and
benefits of MBT in Ireland are also reviewed.
Two of the major studies concerning the external costs and benefits of waste
management, focusing on disposal systems, were funded by the UK Government. The
studies are:
944
� The work underpinning the setting of the Landfill Tax, which majored on the
externalities associated with landfills and incinerators (the CSERGE et al
study); 1155 and
� More recently, the body of work leading to the derivation of figures by HM
Customs & Excise concerning the externalities of landfills and incinerators. 1156
1155 CSERGE, Warren Spring Laboratory and EFTEL (1993) Externalities from Landfill and Incineration,
London: HMSO.
1156 This body of work includes work on emissions and health effects by Enviros (Enviros, University of
Birmingham, RPA Ltd., Open University and Maggie Thurgood (2004) Review of Environmental and
Health Effects of Waste Management: Municipal Solid Waste and Similar Wastes, Final Report to
Defra, March 2004), work on the external costs of waste management by Enviros and EFTEC (Enviros
and EFTEC (2004) Valuation Of The External Costs And Benefits To Health And Environment Of Waste
Management Options Final Report for Defra, December 2004) and a piece which brought together the
data concerning emissions from the first study and data concerning the unit damage costs for the
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