The best projects normally take several steps to carry out. Most rewarding tasks take some time, demand a good number of basic steps plus consistent effort. To have success it’s essential to prepare yourself well, set clear objectives, work effectively and persevere. Whichever task or project you choose, this tends to be true, but for new waste technology projects this is particularly true, due to the difficult problems faced.
But it’s not that difficult really, if you break it into clear individual steps as we have done in the article which follows.
This is the one and only way to achieve success at your goal to promote new waste technologies as an alternative to incineration, and suggest it can be simplified to merely 5 simple steps:
Step 1. For a UK alternative to incineration to be viable it will need to be good at the diversion of waste from landfill. Most importantly the diversion of organic/biological waste from landfill, to meet European Union targets. You will need to consider what are these technologies and how will they help to meet LATS. This will be a task of critical importance because the introduction of the Landfill Allowances Trading Scheme (LATS) in April 2005 has left all local authorities with key decisions to make in terms of how they are going to divert enough biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfill to meet their LATS targets. Most UK local authorities have been using incineration after recycling and diverting all but their residual waste, but alternatively they could introduce new waste technologies into their waste management process stream.
However, as we have shown this type of solution brings with it a number of questions. Not least, as we have already indicated we must ask what are these technologies and how will they help to meet LATS?
Make sure you do not overlook or by-pass this, because answering these questions is essential to select a viable new waste technology, and the stakes are high as unless the local authority meets its LATS target, it will be fined by the UK government. And, if nationally we do not meet the targets overall, the EU will fine us as a nation.
Step 2. Any adoption of a new waste technology must be able to satisfactorily answer the question; What are the residuals and are there markets for these? This important step demands all your attention. Here is the way to do it right: Make sure that you select a new waste technology from which the residuals can be sold, if not at a profit, at a price which helps pay for the extra cost of the waste technology which will process the waste. There are a few reasons this is often important. The principal one is no new waste technology will be acceptable to the public and comply with LATS, or as a financial proposition, unless it produces residual materials which have a value and don’t in the end have to be landfilled for the want of an alternative disposal route.
