R1 Recovery Facility

The R1 status of an Energy from Waste (EfW) facility classifies it as an Energy Recovery Facility rather than as a disposal operation such as a D10 operation - incineration on Land. The EU standard sets a requirement to meet high levels of power conversion efficiency to classify it as an R1 (and may need to be a CHP facility to fully meet the guidance).

Definition of Recovery

Article 3 of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) 2008/98/EC defines 'Recovery' as: 'any operation the principal result of which is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function, or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy. Annex II (of the WFD) sets out a non-exhaustive list of recovery operations.

'Disposal' on the otherhand is defined as: any operation which is not recovery even where the operation has as a secondary consequence the reclamation of substances or energy. Annex I (of the WFD)sets out a non-exhaustive list of disposal operations.

Qualifying for R1 Status

To qualify as R1 status the EfW facility must :

• Have or will have an Environmental Permit for a waste incineration installation
• Be capable of incinerating mixed Municipal Solid Waste, including RDF or SRF Waste Derived Fuel
• Not be a co-incinerator

Only R1 facilities can receive WDF from other EU countries for processing – export to other EU countries for Disposal (for example to an Incinerator that does not have R1 status) is illegal.

The formula for calculating the R1 status is given below:

$Pl_{ef}={{O_{exp}-(E_{f}+E_{imp})} \over {(E_{f}+E_{imp}+E_{circ})}}$

all figures as equivalents in accordance to BREF,Chapter 3.5.6

• Pl_ef = Plant Efficiency.
• E_f = annual energy input to the system by fuels with steam production (GJ/y)
• E_imp = annual imported energy (Note: energy from the treated waste (Ew) is not included)
• E_circ = annual energy circulated
• O_exp = annual exported energy (combined total of heat plus electricity as equivalents)

"If the result is higher than 1: This shows that the plant minus imported energy with steam production is exporting (BREF) or producing (ECJ C-228/00) more energy than that which is required to operate the total waste incineration process."