What We Do

Aside from the wider goal of keeping waste out of landfill, the ban is expected to contribute to the country’s strategy on carbon emissions. The Committee on Climate Change recently called for a ban on all biodegradable waste sent to landfill by 2025, if the UK is to reach its target of net zero emissions by 2050. Scotland has gone a step further, with legislation already in place for a ban in 2021.

Despite the many positive impacts that a ban would bring, Scotland is facing pressure to demonstrate that there is enough capacity in place to deal with the extra waste that will be diverted from landfills across the country. It is expected that quantities of that waste will be crossing the border for processing in England.

When it comes to landfill gas, the picture is complicated. Sites with gas extraction equipment tend to operate for long periods of time so, for example, the oldest known site opened for business in 1947 and began producing electricity in 1987. The site closed in 1990 but still produces electricity to this day.

It takes around three to six months before waste added to a landfill starts to break down to produce landfill gas. It will then continue to be productive for the next 20 years before the volume of gas starts to decline.

If the influx of material suddenly stalls, the expected renewable energy income will also come to a halt. For the companies that have installed high tech equipment based on a projection of a reasonable income, the prospect of a ban on biodegradable waste could be a daunting one.

The impact of the introduction of a ban might be felt within six months. Not only could it reduce the volume of landfill electricity produced each year; it might also limit the total number of years that the landfill site would continue to produce electricity.

To gain a clear picture, each site would need to be analysed individually. Although this may sound like a formidable task, well-managed sites should be checking outputs, projections and agreements on a regular basis. For land owners the benefits are clear – they need to ensure that they are receiving the correct level of royalties for hosting the equipment on their sites. However, with an impending ban, it is also important for landfill gas equipment operators to ensure that they are not expected to pay royalties on income that has been reduced as volumes of waste fall.

The outlook for the future is complex. Reducing biodegradable waste to landfill is an important step but it could be argued that, where landfill gas is in place, genuine value is being created.

For further information, please contact:

Freccia Benn

Co-Founder

0203 876 0324