Protocols for the Evaluation of BMW sent to Landfill by Pre-treatment Facilities. Presentation to EPA Waste Workshop 2009

Transcription

1 Protocols for the Evaluation of BMW sent to Landfill by Pre-treatment Facilities Presentation to EPA Waste Workshop 2009 Olivier Gaillot Technical Director RPS 21 st October 2009

2 Background The EPA published the Guidance on Municipal Solid Waste Pre-treatment & Residual Waste Management in June The objective of the guidance is to assist the delivery of Ireland s obligations under a number of EU Directives (1996/61/EC, 1999/31/EC, 2006/12/EC) and to clarify the pre-treatment requirements for municipal waste for disposal at EPA licensed facilities. As a continuation of the 2008 Waste Characterisation Work, the EPA commissioned RPS to develop a protocol which will provide acceptable evidence to determine percentage of BMW in the MSW going to landfill. APPROACH The work carried out comprised: International Literature Review of research papers and existing methodologies (UK and Germany). Preparation of draft protocols for evaluation of BMW in MSW sent to landfill. The methodology will be tested and validated by carrying out a number of field experiments at pre-treatment facilities.

3 Key Issues Diverse nature of Residual Municipal Solid Waste, which is affected by the recycling system. Range and fragmentation of pre-treatment options available. The constantly changing waste collection and management. Heterogeneous nature of waste (effect on sampling). Difficulty in measuring BMW content of MSW for non-stabilised residual waste.

4 Residual Waste

5 Residual Waste

6 What is BMW? Full BMW: organic, garden, paper, cardboard, Part BMW: wood, textiles, nappies, unclassified combustibles and fines, Non BMW: all other categories

7 Reminder on BMW content in Household Waste 100.0% 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Residual 1 bin system Mixed dry recyclables (green bin) Residual Waste 2 bin system Mixed Organics (brown bin) Residual Waste 3 bin system Source: EPA Waste Characterisation Survey 2008

8 Pre-treatment Facilities to be Monitored INPUT PROCESSING OUTPUT Recyclables / Compost Household Waste (1 bin, 2 bin, 3 bin) Fuel e.g. RDF / SRF Commercial Waste Street cleansing Transfer Station Clean MRF Mechanical Treatment Biological Treatment Incineration Other Ash Stabilised Residual Waste MSW mixed Partly Stabilised Residual Waste Unstabilised Residual Waste

9 General Approach to BMW Assessment Process Output Approach Transfer Incineration Non-stabilised Residual Waste Ash Pre-determined Factors Mechanical Treatment Non-stabilised Residual Waste Waste Characterisation Biological Treatment Partly Stabilised Residual Waste Stabilised Residual Waste LOI and Waste Characterisation AT4 Test

10 Waste Characterisation - Mixing

11 Waste Characterisation - Sorting

12 Waste Characterisation Record Weights & PPE

13 Transfer Station & Use of Predetermined Factors MSW input Transfer MSW Output This methodology is suitable for transfer stations where there is no mechanical treatment of waste Apply Pre-determined Factors (available from EPA Waste Characterisation Surveys will be updated over time) Collection System / Waste Type Household Waste Commercial Waste Untreated / 1 bin 64.5% 77.2% 2 Bin 62.0% 3 Bin 47.0% 75.2%

14 Estimating BMW Content of Outputs from Mechanical Treatment Facilities Input Process Output Residual MSW Collected MSW Mechanical Treatment Recyclables This method is applicable to facilities where there is mechanical treatment of waste e.g. trommelling, magnets etc.

15 Estimating BMW Content of Outputs from Mechanical Treatment Facilities Collect background information on waste types accepted at facility Sample Planning and Survey Planning Frequency: every quarter or every 5,000 tonnes of residual MSW sent to landfill Composite Sample made of 15 grab samples collected over a week Coning & quartering to obtain a 200 kg subset Waste Characterisation Survey execution (methodology and lists available from previous EPA surveys) Data analysis and reporting

16 Waste Characterisation - Sorting

17 Stabilisation of Residual Waste/ Respiration Activity (AT 4 ) EPA Standard for stability means the reduction of the decomposition properties of waste to such an extent that offensive odours are minimised and that the respiration activity after four days (AT 4 ) is <10 mg O2/g DM (until ), and <7 mg O2/g DM thereafter. Respiration activity assesses the oxygen consumption of a sample after four days. Typical values of the AT 4 are in the range of 20 to 70 mg O 2 /g dry matter for untreated MSW. The Respiration Activity after four days (AT 4 ) is only suitable for the assessment of stabilised waste.

18 Effect of Biological Treatment on Respiration Activity Respiration activity BOD 4 [mg )O 2 /g DM] 60 Respiration Activity high 50 Respiration Activity low EPA Stability standard until composting time (weeks) EPA Stability standard after 2016

19 Stabilised Residual Waste likely to meet EPA Standard - Sample Planning and Survey Planning Frequency: every 200 tonnes sent to landfill Composite Sample made of ten, 5 kg incremental samples must be collected per batch Coning and quartering to produce quantity required by lab Survey execution Data analysis and reporting It is important to note that stabilised waste which meets the EPA standard for stabilisation i.e. AT 4 < 10mg O 2 /g DM, will not be considered BMW.

20 Stabilised Residual Waste unlikely to meet EPA Standard Possibly require a combination of waste composition surveys and other tests such as Loss on Ignition (LOI) Propose to validate how the BMW content of this waste stream is calculated by testing of samples.

21 Next Steps Publish draft protocols on EPA website shortly Submissions, consideration of submissions and finalise protocols Ongoing validation and testing of protocols

22 Protocols for the Evaluation of BMW sent to Landfill by Pre-treatment Facilities Presentation to EPA Waste Workshop 2009 Olivier Gaillot Technical Director RPS 21 st October 2009