17 December 2010
The Sheffield ERF is designed to handle 225,000 tonnes of waste, provides heat to over 140 buildings across the city via the District Energy Network and exports up to 19MW of electricity to the National Grid, which is sufficient to power 22,600 homes.
Waste data trends show a reduction in the amount of waste collected in Sheffield, this will lead to spare capacity at the ERF. The reduction in waste for disposal is due to a number of factors, including: increased recycling as a result of residents’ participation in the new kerbside recycling service, economic factors and increased awareness of the 3Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle.
The waste trend forecasts show that over the next six years the ERF would have a shortfall and this would negatively impact on the amount of electricity generated and the available heat capacity for the District Energy Network. The planning application allows the ERF to prevent this shortfall by increasing the amount of waste received from neighbouring areas.
In addition to preventing the shortfall, the receipt of this waste is likely to reduce the amount of waste disposed of in landfill sites. Landfill is considered a less desirable method of waste disposal, compared to facilities that recover energy from waste.
Nigel Williams, director for Veolia Environmental Services in Sheffield comments: “We want to be very transparent with the planning application and make sure everyone is fully aware of the proposals. The Energy Recovery Facility currently receives some waste from neighbouring areas and the proposed change is aimed at maintaining the facility to capacity so that in turn, heat and electricity generation is optimised. The planning application will not lead to any physical changes at the Energy Recovery Facility, nor will it increase the existing capacity of the facility. Following discussions with Sheffield City Council Planning Department, the application has been the subject of an Environmental Impact Assessment which has considered a range of issues associated with the proposed change.”
Contacts
Clare L Froggatt
Communications Manager
Veolia Environmental Services (UK) Plc.
Lumley Street Service Centre
Lumley Street
Sheffield
S4 7ZJ
Tel: +44(0)114 228 3694
Fax: +44(0)144 228 3581
Mob: +44(0)7799 561 401
E: clare.froggatt@veolia.co.uk
Notes to the editor
Veolia Environmental Services, part of the Veolia Environnement Group, is the UK’s leading waste management company. With a sizeable presence throughout the UK, mainland Europe and the world, Veolia Environmental Services employs 85,600 people worldwide, servicing more than 73 million customers in 33 countries. (Source: Human resources data 2009)
Veolia Environmental Services is the only global provider of a full range of services for handling hazardous and non-hazardous solid and liquid waste. It provides waste management and logistics services as well as materials recovery and recycling. Veolia Environmental Services generated revenue of €9.05 billion in 2009.
Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE and NYSE: VE) is the worldwide reference in environmental services. The company has operations all around the world and provides tailored solutions to meet the needs of municipal and industrial customers in four complementary segments: water management, waste management, energy management and freight and passenger transportation. Veolia Environnement recorded revenue of €34.5 billion in 2009.
Further information can be obtained by visiting the websites:
www.veolia.co.uk
www.veolia.com
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