News
Better to burn than recycle waste wood, says Minister
Recycling and waste minister Joan Ruddock has advised colleagues in
Parliament that it is better to burn waste wood and recover energy from
it than to recycle it.
The Minister, who has in the past campaigned against energy recovery, told
Roger Williams in answer to a Parliamentary question that an estimated 16%
of waste wood is currently recycled, with 80% landfilled. She explained that
WRAP is continuing to develop capacity to recycle clean waste wood, but Mrs
Ruddock argued that "most
waste wood is, however, unsuitable for recycling".
Citing research from ERM on carbon balances and energy impacts, published in March 2007, Mrs Ruddock said: "Recent research, carried out on Defra's behalf, suggests that it is generally better, in carbon and energy terms, to recover energy from waste wood than to recycle it, with either option being far better than landfill."
Source: Hansard 24 July 2007, column 948W