Importation of Waste for treatment in the Jersey Energy from Waste plant (P.104/2018): comments (P.104/2018(Com))

STATES OF JERSEY

IMPORTATION OF WASTE FOR TREATMENT IN THE JERSEY ENERGY FROM WASTE PLANT (P.104/2018): COMMENTS

Presented to the States on 30th October 2018 by the Minister for the Environment

STATES GREFFE

2018  P.104 Com.

COMMENTS

1. The Minister for the Environment has produced this note following questions from a number of States Members. It explains the regulatory protocols and a number of practical implications relating to the proposition (P.104/2018), and provides comfort to States Members about the regulation of waste in the Island. Having considered these factors, the Minister for the Environment can see no reason not to support the proposition.
2. The importation of waste to Jersey is subject to 2 main regulatory controls which seek to protect the environment. They are administered by the Minister for the Environment under the Waste Management (Jersey) Law 2005 (the Law').

1. Firstly, there are legal controls for Shipments Consent before waste can be imported.
2. The Waste Management (Jersey) Law 2005 requires the prior informed consent from the Minister for the Environment and from the competent authority of the exporting jurisdiction.
3. These controls are derived from the Basel Convention. The Basel Convention  seeks  to  prevent  movements  of  waste  which  lead  to inappropriate waste management methods and environmental damage.
4. The Energy from Waste Plant (EfW) is designed to recover energy from waste. The plant uses waste as a fuel to generate energy and exceeds the efficiency threshold defined in the Law such that it can be defined as a waste recovery activity. Waste movements between jurisdictions for recovery activities are not precluded in Law provided the shipments consent process mentioned earlier is followed.
5. The Law gives the Minister for the Environment the opportunity to object to the import of waste where it would impact on Jersey's capacity to deal with its own waste. In the case of the Jersey EfW plant, it typically processes between 70,000 – 75,000 tonnes and has a design capacity of approximately 105,000 tonnes per year.
6. Secondly,  there  are  legal  controls  through  a  waste  management licence which is issued to the Minister for Infrastructure to operate the EfW plant. These relate to managing the operation of the plant in a way which minimises the risk of harm to the environment.
7. In terms of the waste types which can be accepted, the plant is designed to incinerate mixed municipal wastes which is collected via the Parishes from householders or from commercial activities in Jersey.
8. The operator's waste acceptance criteria and the waste management licence,  restrict  certain  wastes  from  being  accepted  (for  example, hazardous  wastes,  healthcare  wastes,  asbestos,  animal  carcases, electrical goods, car batteries) for which there are other appropriate sites and recovery or disposal routes in the Island. This, along with the

Island's waste strategy for recycling other types of wastes to encourage the more sustainable use of resources, for example, plastics, metals, card, paper, glass, means that the waste input to the plant is managed as a whole for the Island.

9. Any wastes which are imported into the Island for energy recovery in the plant in future, should the principle in this proposition be accepted, will have to be demonstrably equivalent and segregation of undesirable waste will have to be shown to be taking place. Whilst the details of the waste  types  from  Alderney  have  not  yet  been  fully  verified  it  is expected that the black bag waste from Alderney will be similar in nature to that allowed to be treated at the EfW plant.

3. Waste Handling – Transport from the harbour in St. Helier to the EfW plant at La Collette – Waste will be completely contained to prevent any emissions of odour or litter or any other environmental problems and this will be enforced through contractual arrangements.
4. Emissions of certain key  pollutant gasses into the air (other than carbon dioxide) from burning waste in the EfW plant are regulated through the waste management licence. The plant is designed to operate in accordance with EU waste incineration emission standards and is compliant with these standards.

Emissions are monitored and reported to the regulator and summaries are available on the States of Jersey website [monitoring link]. The Environmental Regulator is happy that the plant is operating to the approved standards.

5. Carbon emissions and global warming – Carbon emissions arising from Energy from Waste plants are dealt with very specifically under the Kyoto Protocol. Only the proportion of carbon emitted from non-biogenic material is accounted for as contributing to Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) since that which arises from recently photosynthesised' or non-fossil carbon' is not counted as a greenhouse gas for the purposes of the protocol. Also electricity is recovered from the EfW plant and used locally.
6. P.38/2014 (Energy Plan for Jersey: Pathway 2050') sets out the emission factor used internationally for carbon from municipal solid waste (MSW) combustion at 75kt carbon/Mt waste (Ref. 1). This means that for every 1 tonne of waste that is treated by Jersey's EfW plant, Jersey's GHGs increase by 75kg.
7. The Energy Plan recognises the need to minimise residual waste entering the EfW plant for a variety of reasons that support the waste hierarchy (Ref. 2). It notes that the carbon impacts of handling any imported waste from other jurisdictions will be assessed and accounted for, in addition to the treatment of our own MSW. Jersey's greenhouse gas inventory can be found online (Ref. 3).
8. In 2016, Jersey carbon emissions from the EfW plant were only 1.5% of Jersey's total carbon emissions when it recovered energy from 76,000 tonnes of waste. At the plant's full capacity of 105,000 tonnes of waste, the proportion would be approximately 2% and so it can be seen that any rise in tonnages treated at the EfW plant will only have a small impact on Jersey's overall emissions profile.

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P.104/2018 Com.

9. Where the import of waste would be contrary to the Energy Plan or substantially increase  Jersey's  carbon  emissions  this  may  of  course  be  a  factor  in consideration of the proposition. As can be seen from the above however, the impact is marginal.
10. The increase in Jersey's carbon emissions from accepting the 600 tonnes of municipal  waste  from  Alderney,  referred  to  in  the  proposition,  will  be inconsequential and in this respect the Minister for the Environment supports the proposition as it supports and helps another Channel Island. The Minister does reserve the right to consider further importation if there is a significant detrimental impact to the Island's carbon emissions.
11. Ash Exports – there are 2 types of ash from the EfW plant which are both exported to England.

1. Incinerator bottom ash (IBA) – is exported to England for recovery as aggregate.
2. Air Pollution Control Residues (APCr) – is exported to England for disposal in hazardous waste landfill.

References

Ref.1 https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/ R%20Pathway%202050%20Energy%20Plan%20Appendices%20(size%202mb)%20 DM%2020140325.pdf

Ref. 2 https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/ R%20Pathway%202050%20An%20Energy%20Plan%20reduced%20(size%201.3mb) %20DM%2020140325.pdf

Ref. 3 http://www.aether-uk.com/Resources/Jersey-Infographic