Examples of the type of infrastructure being considered for waste treatment
Mechanical Biological Treatment
Basically MBT or Mechanical Biological Treatment is a type of waste processing facility that combines a sorting facility to remove recyclables (typically by machines) together with a form of biological treatment such as composting or anaerobic digestion.
What is left can be can be sent to landfill, where it would take up less space, used in land remediation or alternatively used as a refuse derived fuel.
Gasification
Gasification is a process through which waste is converted into carbon monoxide and hydrogen at a high temperature with a controlled level of oxygen and steam. The process creates ‘syngas’ which can be used as a fuel in the form of electricity to feed back into the national grid and/or steam for use in commercial or district heating schemes.
A safe and proven technology it is highly regulated and an extremely efficient method of dealing with residual waste. It has been used successfully alongside recycling and composting schemes to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
A gasification facility exists in Newport on the Isle of Wight. Generating approximately 2.3MW of energy per hour, it treats around 30,000 tonnes of residual waste per year.
