With the support of expert advisers, Peterborough City Council’s
cross-party Members’ Waste and Recycling Working Group investigated
a number of different types of waste treatment technologies,
specifically:
- Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT)
- Mechanical Heat Treatment (MHT)
- Advanced Thermal Treatment (ATT)
- Energy-from-waste (EfW)
Following a detailed appraisal and site visits to various
existing facilities, the Working Group concluded that EfW was the
best practical environmental option for treating Peterborough’s
residual waste.
Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT)
MBT mechanically extracts ‘dry’ recyclable materials and uses
microbes to convert ‘wet’ organic materials into a compost-like
residual material. Some systems use anaerobic digestion (AD)
to produce a biogas that can be burned to generate electricity.
However, it can result in lower quality recyclables and the
compost-like residues can be contaminated with glass and metals, so
they have to be landfilled or burned.Information
about MBT.
Mechanical Heat Treatment (MHT)
MHT uses pressurised steam to ‘cook’ waste prior to sorting and
further processing/incineration of fibre material and treatment of
food waste. The process is very energy-intensive and the
process heat can degrade otherwise recyclable plastics. Waste that
has been treated in this way still requires a final disposal route,
such as incineration.Information
about MHT.
Advanced Thermal Treatment (ATT)
The ATT process heats waste in a low oxygen or oxygen-free
chamber to produce combustible ‘syngas’, which can be burned to
generate electricity. While ATT is used on some waste
materials, such as biomass, industrial wastes and tyres, it has a
limited track record on municipal waste.Information
about ATT.
Energy-from-waste (EfW)
EfW facilities burn residual waste at high temperature under
strictly controlled conditions. The process captures resulting
hot gases and uses them to generate electricity and hot water. The
exhaust gases are then thoroughly cleaned before being discharged
into the atmosphere. EfW is a proven technology that has been used
for many years in Europe.Information about energy-from-waste.
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Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is one alternative to landfill for the
treatment of organic waste.
Council representative have visited a number of sites, including
this energy-from-waste facility in the UK.