Wiser waste management

WASTE:Finding alternatives to landfill is especially important as waste volumes continue to rise

Where once the world looked upon waste as a problem, people are now starting to see opportunities, says Michael Flynn, founder and director of FLI Environmental.

Over the last 18 years, as the company has grown from a one-man operation to a business employing 200 staff, he has seen a significant change in attitudes to waste.

"We are moving with developments, using our experience in landfill to looking on waste now as a resource, rather than a problem and recovering energy from it," he says.

The motivating force behind many of the changes will be the European Landfill Directive which imposes ambitious targets for reducing the volume of waste sent to landfill. For the Republic, this directive requires the 1.9 million tonnes of bio-degradable waste sent to landfill to be cut to just 450,000 by 2016. To meet this target, not only must the volume of waste produced fall, but new technologies will be required. One possible technology is the thermal treatment of waste through autoclaving which uses steam to sterilise waste before it is separated into recyclables and organic waste. The latter can then be used as a fuel.

By the end of the year FLI expects, through its subsidiary 3NRG Waste Management, to be operating the first commercial steam treatment plant in the UK at its site in Bridgend, Wales.

"Europe-wide, the volumes of waste are increasing and while there is a move to divert from landfill using technology, the volumes are still growing because the population is growing and the amount of packaging is growing, so the overall volumes are increasing. That's the challenge," says Flynn.

"Our technology is focused on the 100,000 tonne size, which is more suitable to smaller towns. If the Ringsend incinerator ever gets off the ground, it will be hard to keep it fed, because there won't be enough waste to meet its 600,000 tonne requirements. We look on the waste market as a international market and there are huge opportunities being created by legislation," says Flynn.

The Bridgend plant will produce four megawatts of electricity for the national grid. FLI chose this site for its first plant because it has an existing grid connection.

"This technology will be part of our growth. We would be looking at local authority and private waste companies for this technology. We can divert up to 85 per cent of waste from landfill and also provide a clean energy supply."

According to Flynn, technologies such as this offer a clear alternative to landfill, but he hopes the Government will introduce measures to create a viable market.

"The Minister for the Environment has said that he plans to produce a waste strategy this year and we hope it will encourage investment in these technologies which are very capital-intensive to provide."

The weakness of the current system, according to Flynn, is that there is restriction on the fees charges by a landfill.

"At the moment, landfill operators can drop their price to attract waste that might otherwise go to a treatment plant. There is no penalty on the local authority for using landfill," he explains.

Last November, FLI purchased British waste water group Brightwater from Bord na Móna for €5 million. With Brightwater's technology installed in over 80 per cent of Britain's waste water plants, the purchase was made with an eye on the projected €4 billion investment on waste-water treatment facilities expected in the Republic over the coming years.

"There is €4 billion being spoken about in Ireland over the next number of years. We are looking at claiming some portion of that, especially for smaller waste water treatment plants for some smaller towns not covered by regional plants," he says.

The Brightwater acquisition is in keeping with FLI's expansion strategy, purchasing under-performing companies with specific technical expertise and bringing that to a wider market. Turnover grew to €43 million in 2007, and Flynn hopes this will have risen to €100 million by 2010.

FLI is also involved in engineered landfills, brownfield site clean-up and leachate and gas management. In Ireland, FLI is primarily involved in landfill construction, particularly for mines.

Having started out as a landfill-lining specialist, Flynn says the company is building its expertise and "is heading towards a product management type company".

"This year, we are looking at eastern Europe, at Hungary and Slovakia. The waste situation there is like it was in Ireland or the UK 40 years ago. Because of some of the new technologies, eastern Europe may not have to go through the same 40 years of landfill that we did."