Energy Recovery Facility

An Energy Recovery Facility (ERF), in the broadest context, is the conversion of (non-recyclable) waste into usable heat, electricity, or fuel through a variety of processes, including Combustion, Gasification, Pyrolysis, Anaerobic Digestion, and Landfill Gas recovery .

Energy Recovery generally refers to facilities where the main purpose is generation of energy, and formal R1 accreditation has been awarded.

Often, an ERF is seen more specifically in the context of an Energy from Waste (EfW) receiving Municipal Solid Waste achieving (or anticipated to achieve) R1 status. It does not necessarily mean that that an ERF is one that uses ATT or ACT processes such as Gasification and Pyrolysis, despite it often being discussed or used in this context.

EfW facilities without formal R1 accreditation are reported Disposal rather than Recovery facilities. Whether or not a facility is granted R1 status is important for planning purposes and for application of the Proximity Principle.

In the UK, energy recovery is the waste management process that is showing the largest increase in the amount of waste that it is receiving. The amount of waste being sent to ERFs almost quadrupled from 2014 to 2016, increasing from 1.9 million tonnes to 7.3 million tonnes. The tonnage of waste sent to ERFs has now surpassed that sent to Incineration without energy recovery.

The majority (76%) of waste treated at energy recovery facilities is 'Household & Similar Wastes' and in 2016, there were 37 energy recovery facilities operating in the UK with a total yearly capacity of 9,808,000 tonnes. The number of these facilities has increased by 8, and the capacity has doubled in the years 2014-2016.