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The Burning Issue
ENDS Waste & Bioenergy
30 episodes
8 months ago

Every fortnight the Burning Issue looks at different elements of the energy recovery sector.

Presented by Luke Walsh, the editor of endswasteandbioenergy.com, the show interviews leading figures in the energy recovery sector and aims to investigate where the sector is now and where does it go from here. 

Luke became interested in waste management while working on a bin lorry one summer in Essex. The team he was with collected commercial waste and dumped it in a huge landfill in Pitsea, with no attempt to sort or recycle it.  

Looking out over the landfill Luke thought this was the wrong approach and started writing about environmental issues and reporting on the energy-from-waste sector, which he believes is the best solution for waste that can’t be recycled. But is this still the case?


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Investing
Business,
Government
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All content for The Burning Issue is the property of ENDS Waste & Bioenergy and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Every fortnight the Burning Issue looks at different elements of the energy recovery sector.

Presented by Luke Walsh, the editor of endswasteandbioenergy.com, the show interviews leading figures in the energy recovery sector and aims to investigate where the sector is now and where does it go from here. 

Luke became interested in waste management while working on a bin lorry one summer in Essex. The team he was with collected commercial waste and dumped it in a huge landfill in Pitsea, with no attempt to sort or recycle it.  

Looking out over the landfill Luke thought this was the wrong approach and started writing about environmental issues and reporting on the energy-from-waste sector, which he believes is the best solution for waste that can’t be recycled. But is this still the case?


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Investing
Business,
Government
Episodes (20/30)
The Burning Issue
Shoal’s Sean Austin and Charlie Grayson talk balancing speed and safety, how accident are ‘catalysts’ for change and why building an EfW plant is like Formula one

For the fifth episode of the fourth series, the Burning Issue looks at health and safety in the EfW sector.

This episode focuses on: 

What happens when something does go wrong at an EfW build

“Accidents are tragic, but they can be powerful catalysts for change”

What are businesses doing to support social sustainability

Will the spread of AI support H&S and what problem could it bring

Company is currently “facilitating and supporting” around 90% of UK EfWs 

How to balance speed and safety when deadlines are looming 




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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8 months ago
34 minutes 5 seconds

The Burning Issue
Green Giraffe's Micheal Ware on why funding is hard for EfWs, how investors are loving AD, and turning Wotsits into biogas

For the fourth episode of the fourth series, the Burning Issue looks at the state of the market for investors in EfW and bioenergy


This episode focuses on:


  • Why the company is called Green Giraffe 
  • How it’s raised £35bn 
  • Why heating prisons with EfW is a captivating concept 
  • SAF is a hugely growing sector
  • Could failed gasification plants be converted to waste-to-X projects 
  • How to get over grid connection woes 
  • Turning Wotsits into biogas 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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8 months ago
23 minutes 55 seconds

The Burning Issue
7CO2 directors on non-pipeline carbon capture and making energy recovery the ‘net in Net Zero’

Severnside Carbon Capture and Shipping Hub (7CO2) directors Paul Davies and Keith Birch tell the Burning Issue of the advantage of non-pipeline carbon capture and how it is developing.

This episode focuses on:

Advantages of flexible non-pipeline carbon capture 

As the EfW becomes “saturated, CCS is the big area for growth”

Why energy recovery can put the ‘Net in Net Zero’

Track 2 could see “some uptake of new emerging technologies”

How EfW plants could become mini-hubs for CCS

Combining SAF production with carbon capture

Government needs to extend existing Track 1 provisions to Track 2 projects 





Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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11 months ago
27 minutes 24 seconds

The Burning Issue
Encylis director of policy and sustainability Victoria Merton on carbon capture at Protos, building more facilities

Encylis director of policy and sustainability Victoria Merton on carbon capture at Protos, building more facilities and banning recyclets and biogenics from landfill by 2028

This episode focuses on:

How a team of skilled engineers are looking to build CCS across Encyclis’ portfolio 

Being a year ahead of nearest rival on full-scale EfW carbon capture project 

Development of the Protos plants has hit some “speed bumps”

A ban on all recyclets and biogenics going to landfill by 2028 

Preparing for EfW’s inclusion in the UK ETS  

Building more capacity in tougher market conditions

Delivering heat from EfW in Dublin and elsewhere 

New trade body Resource Recovery UK (RRUK) 

A graduate of the University of Birmingham, Victoria Merton joined Encyclis when it was called Covanta in 2021 having held senior roles at The Peel Group. 



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 year ago
30 minutes 16 seconds

The Burning Issue
Hitachi Zosen Inova CEO Bruno-Frédéric Baudouin on the end of EfW, the start of waste-to-X, and building the facilities of the future

Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) chief executive Bruno-Frédéric Baudouin tells EWB editor Luke Walsh talks about how the business is developing a new generation of waste processing plants.


This episode focuses on:


  • HZI evolving progressively into the leading EfW builder globally
  • How the business has, mostly, avoided the financial issues plaguing other EPC builders 
  • Moving into the O&M market
  • Fixing plants left unfinished by others  
  • Developing a CCS pilot in the UK with Enfinium 
  • Why waste-to-X is the future of the sector 


Now based in Zürich, French national Bruno-Frédéric Baudouin, joined HZI in 2018. He previously held senior roles at GE Power and Alstom Power. A former student at the Ecole Polytechnique of Paris in the 1990s he also achieved a Master of Business Administration from leading business school the Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) in 2004.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 year ago
29 minutes 2 seconds

The Burning Issue
Enfinium's Karl Smyth on carbon capture, EfW's inclusion in the UK ETS, and how big a tonne of CO2 really is

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks to Enfinium's director of external affairs and strategic policy Karl Smyth about building carbon capture at the UK’s largest EfW site 


This episode focuses on:


  • Developing a CCS pilot at the Ferrybridge EfW site next month 
  • What comes next after the permitting pause and expected strategic review of EfW capacity 
  • With a general election due will a change of government increase focus on the waste sector
  • UK ETS will “encourage innovation around contracting” 
  • Two more EfW plants expected operational next year 
  • How a total of six EfW facilities is “probably” enough for the company
  • Why carbon capture is like squeezing a double decker bus through a small pipe network


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 year ago
23 minutes 39 seconds

The Burning Issue
The ESA’s Jacob Hayler on a potential UK EfW moratorium, should Barclay stay at DEFRA and why landfill tax fraud is “creating a huge distortion” in the market

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks ESA executive director Jacob Hayler as the development and future of the UK’s energy-from-waste sector is thrown into the air by the government’s controversial block on new environmental permits. 

This episode focuses on: 

  • Could an EfW moratorium be in Labour’s general election manifesto  
  • “Political interference” in the permitting process
  • Should DEFRA minister Steve Barclay resign?
  • Government has spread investor concern over the entire permitting process
  • Industry has a “perception that there is a lack of coordination and joined up clarity” within the current government 
  • EA struggling with lack of funds and “too many constraints” 
  • Concerns including EfW in the UK ETS will lead to “carbon tourism or leakage”

Hayler joined the ESA from the city in 2005 as an economist, and has worked to develop market-focused policies that combine environmental and economic sustainability. He also has responsibility at the trade body for policy relating to finance, tax, carbon management, contracts and of course EfW.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 year ago
25 minutes 19 seconds

The Burning Issue
Gallagher partner Ian Lester on the end of permitting insurance, uninsured facilities, and why waste will also be a ‘hard market’

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks to Gallagher partner Ian Lester.


This podcast covers:


  • Why insurers won’t be covering the permitting process anymore 
  • Operational plants unable to find insurance 
  • Understanding the risks around carbon capture 
  • Finding a box of hand grenades dumped in waste
  • SAF projects are “receiving a lot of interest”
  • Fires in Netherlands and US have concerned insurers covering the sector
  • How council can cover facilities as PFI deals end.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 year ago
41 minutes 1 second

The Burning Issue
WKE chief executive Ian Jones on waste-to-pellets, turning around troubled projects, and building more production capacity

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks to Waste Knot Energy’s CEO Ian Jones.

This episode focuses on:


  • Developing a new market for waste-derived pellets
  • Exporting pellets from the UK for the first time 
  • Why the government needs to provide a framework for the EA and other departments “to be more successful”
  • How biogas could reduce WKE’s CO2 footprint to “almost zero”
  • Why more businesses will enter the waste-to-pellet market 
  • Investors need to know the era of rapid payback on waste projects has ended 
  • Could power stations like Drax run on waste?




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 year ago
25 minutes 13 seconds

The Burning Issue
OCO managing director Graham Cooper on reducing landfill, capturing carbon and producing a sustainable construction product

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks to OCO managing director Graham Cooper. This episode focuses on:

  • What goes into producing limestone aggregate
  • Using “expensive carbon intensive and non-renewable materials is an outdated view”
  • Landfilling APCr through derogations needs to be “looked at” 
  • Pushing the business beyond the UK 
  • How does OCO’s carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technology work?
  • The long-standing link between the aggregates and waste industries 
  • Expanding current facilities and opening news one 




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1 year ago
18 minutes 28 seconds

The Burning Issue
KEW Technology’s Amna Bezanty on transforming gasification, linking up with SUEZ and preparing for the UK ETS

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks to KEW Technology and Circular Fuels’ head of sustainability, ESG and policy. This episode focuses on:

  • Why KEW is out in the market now after years of technology development 
  • How the company is changing industry views on gasification technology 
  • Growing from a team of ten to 100 
  • The waste sector needs a “unified voice” over lack of clarity around UK ETS
  • Is the waste sector doing enough to encourage people from all backgrounds to join it? 
  • Working with Suez and future collaborations  




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1 year ago
36 minutes 36 seconds

The Burning Issue
Sikla’s Harry Starke on piping, when EfW builds go right, and when they go wrong

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks to Sikla’s head of sales for the UK, Ireland, Oceania and North America, Harry Starke. 

This episode focuses on:

  • If Germany and France have 100+ EfWs each why shouldn’t the UK?
  • What is was like working on the the troubled “three + one” EfW and biomass projects 
  • Why developers need to take steel measurements seriously 
  • Dealing with EPC and other contractors on an EfW build 
  • Pipework “is what you see all around” EfW plants.


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1 year ago
30 minutes 39 seconds

The Burning Issue
CIWM’s Dan Cooke on Viridor’s transformation, future emissions trading, and developing the next generation

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks to the current president of Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and former group head of sustainability at Viridor Dan Cooke.


This episode focuses on:


  • The UK is developing “world-class regulation”
  • Emissions trading scheme and the impact it will have
  • How Viridor moved from landfill to EfW and what happened in between
  • There are still capacity gaps for merchant plants to come in
  • How data and AI will support the waste sector 


Alongside his CIWM role Cooke is currently head of protected and historic landscapes at Cornwall Council.


Cooke’s career in the waste and resources sector spans three decades and takes in roles in local government, environmental charity and the private sector. He served 21 years with Viridor, holding roles including group head of sustainability, director of regulatory affairs and director of external affairs.


He is an environmental (ESG), communications and landscapes professional with over 35 years’ experience in the recycling/waste management, water and landscapes sectors (working across private companies, public authorities and charities). Cooke has also held previous roles with Tidy Britain Group/Environmental Campaigns, and Coventry City Council. 


Previously he served as chair of the Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board (WAMITAB); director of Viridor Credits Environmental Ltd (an independent charity distributing grants of £5-8M/yr via the Landfill Communities Fund); and trustee of the Carymoor Environmental Trust.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 year ago
23 minutes 13 seconds

The Burning Issue
NAWDO’s Jarno Stet on electrifying waste trucks, social media and ‘cheap’ criticism of local authorities

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks to the outspoken National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO) secretary and City of Westminster’s waste and recycling manager Jarno Stet

This episode focuses on:

  • Social media and does it still have a place for professionals
  • How Westminister developed a waste collection fleet powered on the waste it collects
  • Will producing hydrogen from waste be the next big thing
  • Criticism of local authority waste contracting processes are “cheap”
  • Is the UK reaching EfW capacity and should Europe work together more to share capacity.

Stet, who is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Waste Management, specialises in local authority waste management. 

As the current secretary of the NAWDO, Stet works to support the interests of local authorities when it comes to waste processing. 

Stet is also waste and recycling manager for local authority Westminster City Council, overseeing waste management for about 250,000 residents, 34,000 businesses and about one million daily commuters and tourists.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 year ago
27 minutes 46 seconds

The Burning Issue
Geminor’s Oliver Caunce on whether UK waste exports rising was a blip, the future of SRF, and succeeding in a challenging market

For the first episode of series three, the Burning Issue podcast returns to the waste exports market to discover if 2023’s increase in tonnages would continue 

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks to Geminor country manager UK Oliver Caunce about being the largest exporter of waste from the UK, how the company got to that position, and how it hopes to stay there as its rivals evolve. 

This episode also focuses on:

  • 2023’s rise in UK waste exports
  • costs have increased for SRF production, driving a swing to RDF
  • how to cope with new taxes focused on the biogenic content of baled waste
  • will waste management rise up the political agenda?
  • Geminor’s involvement in the development of chemical processes for hard-to-recycle plastics

Norway-headquartered Geminor has facilities and offices in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the UK, Germany, Poland, France and Italy, and employs around 100 professionals and experts in total.

The company’s subsidiaries mainly deal with the treatment and handling of refuse-derived fuel and solid-recovered fuel production, as well as processing waste wood, paper, cardboard, plastic, hazardous waste and other streams. 



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 year ago
24 minutes 15 seconds

The Burning Issue
Trowers & Hamlins LLP's Christopher Philpot on On legal action around waste-gasification plants, how to avoid EfW pitfalls, and why you should “love your contracts”

The Burning Issue looks at different elements of the energy recovery sector, taking the starting point that while energy recovery has moved some waste out of landfill, where does the sector go from here?

 

In the final episode of series two, the Burning Issue speaks to Christopher Philpot, senior associate at Trowers & Hamlins LLP.


Philpot shines a light on the legal action that has followed several high-profile failures involving gasification-equipped energy-from-waste plants mainly designed to process refuse-derived fuel.  


This episode focuses on: 


  • Why a higher percentage of EfW deals have ended up in court when compared with similar industries  
  • Challenges waste-gasification plants have faced in getting through commissioning and then meeting contractual outputs.
  • Major problems with the systems designed to move fuel through plants into the gasifier 
  • How to avoid the pitfalls other in the sector have fallen into 
  • And why you should “love your contracts”   


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2 years ago
18 minutes 14 seconds

The Burning Issue
Local Partnership’s Hattie Parke on the looming end of PFI deals, what happens next, and a little bit about RDF

Every fortnight the Burning Issue looks at different elements of the energy recovery sector, taking the starting point that while energy recovery has moved some waste out of landfill, where does the sector go from here?


In this eighth episode of series two, the Burning Issue speaks to Hattie Parke as she takes on a new role as director of climate at the government-owned public-private partnership unit known as Local Partnerships. Parke has experienced the EfW sector before at consultancy Eunomia, which is the secretariat of the RDF Industry Group and is still active in it now. 


The episode focuses on:


  • Opportunities and problems for the EfW sector as long term PFI deals end
  • Why 25 year contracts are “probably” a thing of the past
  • What local authorities need to do now to get the best value for taxpayers
  • Staying on top of a changing policy environment 





Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2 years ago
21 minutes 45 seconds

The Burning Issue
Marr Contracting's Simon Marr on EfW building, cutting construction emissions and winning new deals in the UK

Every fortnight the Burning Issue looks at different elements of the energy recovery sector, taking the starting point that while energy recovery has moved some waste out of landfill, where does the sector go from here?


In this seventh episode of series two, the Burning Issue speaks to Marr Contracting managing director Simon Marr , chair of the RDF Industry Group and managing director of Totus Environmental. 


The episode focuses on:


  • In the UK Marr is bidding on “a lot of work… getting involved in early planning of some major projects”
  • More lawyers are involved in EfW contracts, “which is never helpful”
  • Using renewable diesel-powered cranes to lower carbon emissions of builds 
  • Is the UK a  graveyard for EPC contractors?




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2 years ago
18 minutes 19 seconds

The Burning Issue
RDFIG & Totus Environmental's Andy Jones on the UK importing waste and TFS issues

Every fortnight the Burning Issue looks at different elements of the energy recovery sector, taking the starting point that while energy recovery has moved some waste out of landfill, where does the sector go from here?


In this sixth episode of series two, the Burning Issue speaks to Andy Jones, chair of the RDF Industry Group and managing director of Totus Environmental. 


The episode focuses on:


  • Why there is no reason to ban the legitimate export of waste
  • Waste exporters “sympathetic” to the EA’s current plight, but improvements to the TFS process are needed “quickly”
  • Could the UK start to import waste?
  • Is the UK already over capacity in terms of EfW plants?




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2 years ago
22 minutes 39 seconds

The Burning Issue
Viridor's Tim Rotheray on ESG, acquisitions, carbon capture and banning nitrous oxide

Every fortnight the Burning Issue looks at different elements of the energy recovery sector, taking the starting point that while energy recovery has moved some waste out of landfill, where does the sector go from here?


In this fifth episode of series two, the Burning Issue speaks to Tim Rotheray, director of ESG and external affairs at Viridor. 


The episode focuses on:


  • Forecasting a ban on nitrous oxide and Runcorn’s CCS bid getting backing
  • What else the company could be interested in buying after several EfW projects and Norway-based Quantafuel 
  • Why the Beddington EfW needs to expand as “there's not enough capacity to treat the residual waste generated in the area”
  • How interest around in the circular economy, waste, and recycling is “really growing in a very positive way”
  • Potential impact of the UK’s Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) on Viridor
  • Ramping up Viridor’s first plastic-recycling facility in Avonmouth 




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2 years ago
22 minutes 34 seconds

The Burning Issue

Every fortnight the Burning Issue looks at different elements of the energy recovery sector.

Presented by Luke Walsh, the editor of endswasteandbioenergy.com, the show interviews leading figures in the energy recovery sector and aims to investigate where the sector is now and where does it go from here. 

Luke became interested in waste management while working on a bin lorry one summer in Essex. The team he was with collected commercial waste and dumped it in a huge landfill in Pitsea, with no attempt to sort or recycle it.  

Looking out over the landfill Luke thought this was the wrong approach and started writing about environmental issues and reporting on the energy-from-waste sector, which he believes is the best solution for waste that can’t be recycled. But is this still the case?


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.