Survey Shows UK Organic Recycling Trends
22 November 2011
A market analysis of the UK organics recycling industry for the calendar year 2009 has been published, showing a rise in kerbside organic collections and positive anticipation for the future of the organics recycling sector
The report titled A study of the UK organics recycling industry 2009 is the latest in a series of annual projects that originated with the former Composting Association members' survey.
This year's study has been led by a partnership consisting of WRAP, the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA), the Association for Organics Recycling (AfOR) and the Renewable Energy Association (REA).
The study covers the full range of organic waste treatment processes, including anaerobic digestion (AD), in-vessel composting (IVC), mechanical biological treatment (MBT), open air windrow (OAW) composting and thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD).
Report Conclusions
More municipal wastes were collected through kerbside schemes than at bring sites. The emergence of "food waste only" collection schemes was also noted, being far greater than estimated in previous surveys.
The majority of organic local authority waste collected for recycling was green garden waste (69 percent), identified through the WasteDataFlow.
Between 2008/09 and 2009, the composting sector grew by about five percent, in line with surveys conducted in previous years.
It is anticipated that the organics recycling sector will continue to grow in the future, although it seems likely that AD and IVC systems will treat proportionally more wastes than they do at present.
Municipal waste remained the main feedstock for the organics recycling industry, but with non-municipal feedstocks forming a much greater proportion of AD waste inputs.
The composting sector composted more wastes than in previous years. However, the dominance of OAW systems appeared to be reducing proportionally as more IVC systems became operational with the capacity to treat separately-collected food wastes.
The AD organics recycling sector in the UK was at an early stage in its development in 2009. It appeared to source wastes from a wider range of suppliers than the composting sector, spanning both municipal and non-municipal sources.
Agriculture remained the dominant end-market for compost and digestate material products and expanded its size and market share slightly, with the professional and amateur horticultural markets also playing a significant role.
For a copy of the full report click HERE
Darrel Moore
