Quality protocols help convert industrial waste in to cash

1 February 2011

In a move to boost recycling of the industry waste into materials that can be put back to use, the European Pathway to Zero Waste Programme - an Environment Agency and South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) initiative - introduced three potential Quality Protocols that could help South East businesses turn more than 4.2 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste into cash and realise substantial environmental benefits.

• The project will focus on end of waste criteria for:
• The use of biogas and biomethane for heat and power generation for injection into the gas grid and use as transport fuel.
• The use of ash from the combustion of meat bone meal as a fertiliser, source of phosphate or a raw material for manufacturing building materials.
• The use of coal tar covered road planings as a building aggregate.

Taking the award winning Waste Protocols Project forward, the new Quality Protocols will look into the potential for specific waste streams and the erasing of the stigma of a waste label by strict adherence to a 'Quality Protocol' model of reprocessing. If the research shows positive results it might lead to substantial cost savings for businesses across the South East through reduced disposal costs and administrative burden, as well as the associated environmental benefits of less waste sent to landfill. By following the Quality Protocol procedure, producers can create sustainable resources that guarantee end user satisfaction in terms of quality, which in the long run results in market demand.