Ireland has to enhance domestic energy production from waste rather than relying on exports of residual waste, emphasized, Alex White, T.D, minister for communications, energy and natural resources, Ireland.
He was addressing delegates at the recent Sunday Business Post Waste Summit held in Dublin.
His message clearly indicated that the opportunity provided by waste sector contribute to the Irish government’s key environmental goals in addition to the economic recovery and sustainability of the energy supply.
The government’s waste policy set out in ‘A Resource Opportunity – Waste Management Policy in Ireland’.
The waste sector is an interesting field and many of the objectives set for Ireland’s energy policies depend on a vibrant waste industry and implementation of Government waste policy, said the minister.
The policy challenges to consider waste as a resource and to move towards the virtual elimination of landfill. The old saying of waste not want not still remains at the forefront of national policy, he said.
Ironically, the country depends heavily on export for the treatment of waste while relying on fossil fuel import for energy needs. On squaring this circle, significant dividends in terms of energy generation, economic growth and waste treatment can be achieved.
Ireland has to achieve a binding target of meeting 16 percent of energy demand from renewable sources. The resource efficiency must be about exploiting the maximum beneficial use from the waste produced he said.
The October European outcome was a good one for Ireland with a 2030 target to be achieved domestically and at the EU level, representing technically feasible contributions to deal effectively with global warming, minister added.
For Ireland, bioenergy will play an important role, and this is being reflected in the consultation currently being conducted with a preparation for a definitive energy policy, to be published in the middle of next year, he continued.
Recently, a Draft Bioenergy Plan was published which will undergo Strategic Environmental and Appropriate Assessments, including public consultation, hoped the minister.
The Plan recognizes cross-sectorial nature of bioenergy and the sector’s potential to contribute towards the achievement of a number of policy objectives, he added.
Continued support for the significant bioenergy policies already in place is central to the plan, which accommodates the use of waste materials as feedstock, said the minister.
The REFIT schemes which support the generation of electricity and Combined Heat and Power from waste to energy, anaerobic digestion and landfill gas are also included, noted the minister.
Last year, over 99 percent of the biodiesel on the Irish market was produced from these kinds of waste materials.
For waste recovery, the use of waste as an energy resource is important. The sustainable use of organic wastes can render them as valuable commodities.
It can also divert biodegradable wastes away from landfill and into energy, helping to avoid harmful methane emissions and landfill-related water contamination.
Diverting the 800,000 tons or more of green and food waste each year is not without challenges and the plan emphasizes the need for all stakeholders to ensure the full implementation of the actions set out in Waste Management Policy, explained the minister.
The Draft Bioenergy Plan also recommends the continued support for bioenergy research, development and demonstration on a cross-Government basis.
Waste is an important energy source, Ireland imports most of its energy, and exports a significant quantity of its waste and a change is necessary, concluded the minister.
Sabeena Wahid
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