High Temperature and Clinical Waste Incineration

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The incineration of Hazardous Waste and Healthcare Waste (covering both Clinical Waste and Offensive Waste) is, in many cases, the prescribed approach for the disposal of these wastes. In the UK there are 4 High Temperature Incinerators (or HTIs) focused on Hazardous Waste, 15 Clinical Waste Incinerators dedicated to Healthcare Waste (with one further site in construction for delivery in 2021) and 20 Residual Waste EFW incinerators that have received Clinical Waste in 2020.

Picture of Veolia's Ellesmere Port - stock image - all rights reserved
Picture of Veolia's Ellesmere Port - stock image - all rights reserved


Context

The incineration of Hazardous Waste and Healthcare Waste (covering both Clinical Waste and Offensive Waste) is, in many cases, the prescribed approach for the disposal of these wastes. They can be broadly grouped by:

In 2020 these facilities received 131,944 tonnes of Clinical Waste (with no reporting by two sites) and the HTIs received 123,636 tonnes of Hazardous Waste, excluding the Hazardous Clinical Waste they received. In addition, Cement Kilns also played a significant role in the disposal of some specific Hazardous Waste EWC codes, totaling 102,231 tonnes in 2020 (although no data was recorded for three of the cement kilns).

Historical Levels of Incineration

The historical picture for hazardous waste incineration (all EWC codes as hazardous, excluding those EWC chapter 18 codes that are hazardous and included in the graph above) is shown in the figure below for England only, with a significant proportion exported to R1 incineration and sent to the four High Temperature Incinerators (HTIs). This figure excludes hazardous waste to Cement Kilns.

Graph of Hazardous Waste to incineration - all rights reserved Monksleigh
Graph of Hazardous Waste to incineration - all rights reserved Monksleigh

The historical picture for clinical waste incineration (as defined by EWC chapter 18 codes) is shown in the figure below for England only, with relatively little exported to R1 incineration and a dramatic increase in MSW incineration in 2019/20 through the pandemic[4]

Graph of Clinical Waste to Incineration all rights reserved Monksleigh
Graph of Clinical Waste to Incineration all rights reserved Monksleigh

Sites

The following tables summarise all High Temperature and Clinical Waste Incineration facilities (excluding micro-scale plants and Pet Crematoriums) and those Residual Waste EFW sites that received Clinical Waste in 2021. This page excludes Cement Kilns which are separately listed in WikiWaste.

Within the tables below the headline plated capacity, the total tonnage received in 2021 and the tonnage of Clinical Waste received in 2021 is listed from annual report data. The ID numbers refer to the map on this page, with the 'EFW ID' in the last table referring to the corresponding ID in the Residual Waste EFW listing. More detailed information is available on each site by clicking through to the site specific page (which are being progressively added in to WikiWaste over time) from the tables below:

Locations of HTI & Clinical Incinerator in the UK
Locations of HTI & Clinical Incinerator in the UK

List of Clinical Waste Incinerators (ClinIncin)

Of the sites listed below Haylers End Energy Recovery Plant (near Malvern), has only recently opened and Scotia Business Park (near Stoke-on-Trent), is in construction for delivery in the Q3 of 2021. Kings Weston Lane, Avonmouth has no annual return for 2020. Of the sites below, Hillingdon Clinical Waste Incinerator appears to have closed in 2020 and consequently made a zero annual return, and whilst Wrexham Clinical Waste Incinerator made an annual return for both 2019 (c.5,600 tonnes) and 2021 (c.5,100 tonnes), it made no annual return for 2020. By going to each page for each site the quarterly returns to the EA, where made, can be compared to the annual return data below.


ID Site Name Type of Site Capacity (t) Total Received 2022 Clinical Received 2022

1. Addenbrooke's Hospital Incinerator ClinIncin 3500 0 0
2. Kings Weston Lane Clinical Waste Incinerator ClinIncin 6800 0 0
3. Haylers End Energy Recovery Plant ClinIncin 8000 0 0
4. Scotia Business Park ClinIncin 16000 0 422
5. Veterinary Laboratories Agency ClinIncin 3614 957 670
6. Lakeside Clinical Waste Incinerator ClinIncin 10000 4489 4489
7. Stoneybridge Clinical Waste Incinerator ClinIncin 5241 3170 2531
8. Derriford Incinerator ClinIncin 3500 2423 2820
9. Ashford Clinical Incinerator ClinIncin 8500 7856 7596
10. Avonmouth Clinical Waste Incinerator ClinIncin 6570 4802 4802
11. Bolton Clinical Waste Incinerator ClinIncin 6570 5110 5051
12. Bournemouth Waste To Energy Facility ClinIncin 8000 6028 6028
13. Hillingdon Clinical Waste Incinerator ClinIncin 8000 0 0
14. Ipswich Clinical Waste Incinerator ClinIncin 8000 8307 8055
15. Knostrop Clinical Waste Incinerator ClinIncin 17000 13198 13017
16. Oldham Clinical Waste Incinerator ClinIncin 7446 6246 6173
17. Sidcup Waste to Energy Facility ClinIncin 8500 5250 5175
18. Redditch Clinical Waste Treatment Facility ClinIncin 10000 0 0
19. Wrexham Clinical Waste Incinerator ClinIncin 8000 4738 4738

List of High Temperature Incinerators (HTI)

The largest High Temperature Incinerator site in the UK, and one of the most advanced in Europe[5], is Veolia's Ellesmere Port Incinerator which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary[6]. The Fine Environmental Services Seal Sands Facility is a dedicated facility for processing Hazardous Waste from the adjacent industrial facility alone. By going to each page for each site the quarterly returns to the EA can be compared to the annual return data below.


ID Site Name Type of Site Capacity (t) Total Received 2022 Clinical Received 2022

20. Fine Environmental Services Seal Sands Facility HTI 48000 11170 0
21. Fawley HTI HTI 48000 37152 5061
22. Ellesmere Port Incinerator HTI 100000 71602 1228
23. East Kent Waste Recovery Facility HTI 13140 5945 3160

Incinerators that received Clinical Waste in 2022 (Incin)

By going to each page for each site the quarterly returns to the EA can be compared to the annual return data below.


ID EfW ID Site Name Type of Site Capacity (t) Total Received 2022 Clinical Received 2022

24. 17 Coventry EfW Plant Incin 315000 297821 0
26. 44 Lerwick Energy Recovery Plant (Shetland EfW Plant) Incin 24000 23066 108
27. 5 Edmonton EcoPark EfW Incin 750000 488731 521
30. 18 Great Blakenham EfW Incin 295000 283037 4808
31. 3 Teeside EfW - lines 1-5 (Teeside & NEERC), Billingham. line 3 Incin 756000 679414 4072
32. 31 Vine Street EfW (Kirkless EfW) Incin 136000 120212 710
33. 36 Chineham ERF (Integra North) Incin 110000 95898 20
34. 14 Four Ashes EfW (Staffordshire ERF) (W2R) Incin 340000 339811 1
35. 28 Leeds Recycling & ERF (Cross Green ERF) Incin 190000 187270 1363
36. 23 Marchwood ERF (Integra South West) Incin 220000 200604 300
38. 24 Portsmouth ERF (Integra South East) Incin 220000 202714 4619
39. 7 SELCHP ERF Incin 464000 428704 124
40. 21 Sheffield ERF Incin 245000 224365 3401
41. 11 Tyseley ERF Incin 5250 5548 5548
43. 40 Peterborough EfW Incin 85000 90939 7863
44. 10 Trident Park (Cardiff ERF) Incin 425000 360189 5689
45. 8 Lakeside EfW Incin 468280 425237 12
49. 51 Dunbar EfW Incin 325000 322045 2424
59. 13 Greatmoor EfW Incin 345000 297448 9
60. 58 Millerhill Incin 189500 156822 115

Out of all Residual Waste EFW sites, 20 received Clinical Waste in 2021, with some, such as Tyseley ERF, having a long history of receiving Clinical Waste and others currently applying to accept Clinical Waste in the longer term, such as Sheffield ERF which has applied for a permit amendment to handle 10,000 tonnes per year of orange bag healthcare waste[7], to enable continued receipt of this waste after RPS C23[3] expired. In addition, Lerwick has also recently applied for a permit variation for up to 4,000 tonnes of healthcare waste[8] for a similar reason.

Reporting

Sites tend to report different line items in their annual report tonnages, which do not make the separation of Hazardous and Non Hazardous Clinical Waste always easy to understand:

  • They do not report waste received broken down by EWC codes in their annual reports and indeed:
    • Some of the 'ClinIncin' have only recently been captured by the need to produce an annual a report
    • Some split the Hazardous Clinical Waste tonnage out and report it as either Clinical Waste or Hazardous Waste
    • Some group the Hazardous and Non-Hazardous together report it all as Clinical Waste
    • Some report the Hazardous tonnage as Hazardous Waste, but report the Non Hazardous Clinical within the general Non Hazardous waste received
  • There are a few sites that may have received waste but sent it onward for processing elsewhere, either due to plant breakdown/availability or by using different treatment options for the waste received than incineration in the case of 'ClinIncin' sites
  • The plated capacity can be by reference to the Environmental Permit limit, or the design capacity referenced in the annual report for the site, which ever the operating company chooses to report
  • Some EfW facilities do not report Clinical Waste as as separate line item in their annual report where it is non-hazardous in nature, instead reporting it as part of either the household waste or commercial and industrial waste streams received.

References

  1. 07_01_HTM Safe Management of Healthcare Waste
  2. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic the EA published a Regulatory Position Statement (RPS C23) clarifying the circumstances where COVID-19 waste can be incinerated with Municipal Waste Waste (MSW) until July 2021
  3. 3.0 3.1 RPS C23
  4. Note some of the Clinical Incinerators do not have waste returns and so the annual report data is used in theses cases. Also note that the 'MSW Incinerators' report waste returns which are under-reported in the annual reports
  5. Ellesmere Port Brochure
  6. Veolia Press Release September 2020
  7. [https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/veolia-says-efw-pivotal-for-clinical-waste/ Letsrecycle Article
  8. SEPA permit consultation