Sam Hinton, technical support manager, Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), assesses the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on food waste and the anaerobic digestion (AD) industry.
With lockdown in full swing, the news focusses on one topic, COVID-19, and reporters are exploring every aspect of it. While the NHS rightly takes centre stage, some have turned to reporting on a part of the economy that also has not stopped (and never does) – waste disposal and processing. So how is this industry affected?
Food waste: avalanche or shortage?
News stories have recently talked of the ‘avalanche of food waste that could be diverted to the anaerobic digestion (AD) industry following the initial wave of coronavirus panic buying’.
They report that ‘Britons have hoarded food worth £1billion during the past fortnight, with loaves of bread, bunches of bananas and unopened packs of chicken products tossed aside after going past their use-by date’.
As a consequence, ‘AD plant operators could soon be working at maximum capacity, due to an increase in food waste from panic buying’.
These conflicting reports highlight the importance of preventing excess food waste and ensuring that the food waste that is generated is collected and treated via AD…
Other media outlets, meanwhile, have focussed on the news that local councils’ waste management strategies are being adversely impacted by the coronavirus and that household waste collections – and specifically the organic fraction of this – might be disrupted, if not cancelled; just as society begins to realise how important the waste sector is to public health and the circular economy.
Luton Borough Council, like many others, are seeing ‘significant disruption to services as 134 staff were self-isolating’. The staff shortage could eventually lead to black bin collections being prioritised over the collection of [putrescible] garden and food waste collections in many councils.
However, a survey carried out by local authority groups led by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) has revealed that so far waste services have been largely unaffected by COVID-19, with garden waste and bulky waste collections being identified as the worst hit.
These conflicting reports highlight the importance of preventing excess food waste and ensuring that the food waste that is generated is collected and treated via AD rather than going to landfills or incinerators – where it would emit harmful gases instead of being recycled into green gas and biofertilisers.
Impacts on the AD industry feedstocks
The AD industry provides essential services such as energy generation and waste management. AD therefore falls into the Government’s definition of being a ‘Critical Sector’, with its site operating staff classified as Key Workers.
Those involved in the AD industry will understand that food waste does not just come from households but also from manufacturing, hospitality and retail. The ratio taken at each site will be down to existing commercial arrangements and availability within the facility’s catchment area.
The Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) said that local authorities will do what they can to keep existing services going, but, if it comes to it, the general waste service will be the one collection that continues above all others.
At the moment, within AD, food waste feedstock shortage appears to affect mostly those relying on supplies from outlets such as pubs, restaurants, cafés, schools, which are now closed, and events, which are now cancelled.
AD operators have highlighted that even with the supposed ‘avalanche’ of household food waste, they have seen their overall feedstock fall by around 10-15%. This could have lasting consequences considering that the recovery from the coronavirus outbreak is likely to be prolonged.
Flexibility in the AD industry
To adapt to food waste shortages, the AD industry has the potential to alter its feedstock type and quality – but this can be limited by commercial arrangements and, more importantly, regulatory frameworks.
For any feedstock change, plants need to ensure they observe animal by-products (ABP) regulations, permits, planning conditions, policy (incentive) requirements, and that they are informing insurers of any significant technical or operational changes on site.
Operators should ensure the process and bacteria are closely monitored and transitioned at a steady rate to prevent biological instability, which can lead to operational and health and safety issues.
It is likely operating businesses will need to access the government’s coronavirus funding support schemes.
The transition, even though technically and biologically possible, also needs to be looked at economically.
Plants will need to assess the location of potential new feedstocks to understand the associated haulage costs, which may not be economically favourable to business plans and make the plant less commercially viable, especially with the rising animal feed prices.
It is likely operating businesses will need to access the government’s coronavirus funding support schemes.
So what are the options?
Whilst the industry can switch to a different feedstock, and food waste is not the only feedstock that keeps the industry afloat, the priority is to make sure that food waste remains available for recycling.
ADBA has already expressed its concern to Defra, who confirmed that they are working with Local Councils and the waste industry to ensure that separate food waste collections are maintained.
Households can help too. They can take actions which will not only reduce the amount of food wasted, but also remove the health risk for the public and bin men, support domestic renewable energy production and help lower the UK’s carbon footprint.
On the last point: if the global annual emissions from food waste – some 3.3 billion tonnes – were released as a single country, that nation would be the world’s third largest polluter behind China and the United States.
Good household food management actions include:
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Basic fridge management – eat the perishables that are nearly out of date
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Use that extra time at home – do some large meal prepping
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Use the freezer for products such as chicken and bread
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If your freezer is already full, look out for multiple companies and apps that can help distribute food before it goes out of date
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Keep your food waste separate. Where food waste collections are applied, make sure your food waste is not contaminated with plastics and other inert contaminants as these will adversely affect the biological process and the quality of the organic fertiliser that also derives from AD treatment, which in turn will contaminate the soil.
The lessons from COVID-19
The issue of managing food waste during the Covid-19 pandemic may in fact act as a platform for the waste industry to engage and educate the public about the environmental and economic benefits of saving 580 kg CO2 eq. for every tonne of food waste diverted from landfill to an anaerobic digester.
The AD industry as whole generates enough heating for 1.3 million homes or reduces the emissions of 2.6 million cars. Living in lockdown might also serve to make people aware of how much food they waste and encourage them to re-use their food and reduce their waste.
Emergency support for Local Councils in implementing separate household food waste collections, ahead of the scheme becoming mandatory from 2023, may ensure that the financial and operational infrastructure is in place well ahead of schedule.
By supporting AD now, they will also encourage a clean and green response to the Covid-19 crisis and prevent the derailment of the UK’s progress towards Net Zero by 2050
Severn Trent Green Power’s recent contract signing with Peterborough Council to haul and treat separately collected kerbside food waste will hopefully be the first of many during and following the pandemic.
Whilst the financial strain is understandable, Local Councils must maintain separate food waste collections as much as possible as these not only remove health hazards from the general waste stream but enable the AD industry to continue supplying secure, renewable energy for electricity, heat and transport fuels, avoid harmful gases emissions from food waste in landfills and incinerators, and boost domestic food production from British farms.
By supporting AD now, they will also encourage a clean and green response to the Covid-19 crisis and prevent the derailment of the UK’s progress towards Net Zero by 2050
