Buckinghamshire Residual Waste Performance Report 2021/2022

Contents

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1.0 Introduction

Buckinghamshire Council Waste Management Project
Annual Service Report
Contract Year 6
1st April 2021 – 31st March 2022

The 2021/22 contract year has been outstanding in many respects, with excellent availability leading to record levels of waste being processed and electricity being generated.

Whilst Covid-19 had an influence, it was not as restrictive as the first year of the pandemic. The biggest impact remained the reduced support from contract partners as opposed to any lack of site staff. As a result some defects were slow to be cleared and improvements were delayed in implementation. However, this did not have a material impact on the availability of the plant as seen in the longest run record being set at 293 days between 27 May 2021 and 16 March 2022. (Previous best continuous run was 29 May 2018 to 20 January 2019 – 237 days).

As reported last year: COVID also limited the ability to benchmark other sites and facilities and reduced the external oversight (both from within and without FCC and BC) that routinely contributes to maintaining good practice. Whilst this did not have an immediate impact within year, these activities are conducted for a variety of good reasons and their loss may be felt in numerous small ways in the future without careful mitigation.

Benchmarking and external oversight are beginning to restart and all Managers and Supervisors have been given annual targets to benchmark and develop SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) of the sites they have visited.

Map 1 - Location of FCC facilities and district councils.
Map showing FCC locations

During the sixth contract year

310,694 tonnes

of residual waste were processed for energy recovery, with 114,891 tonnes of waste processed directly from BC.

211,975 Megawatt hours

of electrical power was exported to the National Grid system - over 38,000 MWh above the base case assumption.

892 visitors

were welcomed to the Visitor Centre as part of 94 seperate tours.

138,012 miles

The operation of High Heavens WTS saved an estimated 138,012 delivery miles to Greatmoor EfW.

94.3% plant availablity

5.3% above the base case model of 89%.

8 Minutes

The average turnaround time at both sites was under 8 minutes (weighbridge to weighbridge).

2.0 Waste management

Total waste volumes handled

During this contract year, FCC Environment have processed 311,056 tonnes of residual waste across both facilities. BC Contract Waste was delivered by all the Buckinghamshire Kerbside Teams and also from Household Recycling Centres (HRC). Bulky waste from the Kerbside collections, as well as HRCs, is shredded and delivered to Greatmoor EfW via High Heavens Waste Transfer Station (WTS), reducing waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill. In addition to BC Contract Waste, Greatmoor EfW also receives Third Party Residual waste. A full summary of the total waste inputs across both facilities is featured in Table 1.

Table 1 - Summary of waste inputs processed at High Heavens WTS and Greatmoor EfW in this contract year by supplier
Waste inputs Tonnes
Aylesbury Vale Area 36,046
Chiltern & Wycombe Area 51,153
South Bucks Area 12,034
Household Recycling Centres Residual 11,081
Shredded Bulky Waste 4,929
Contaminated IN ex HH GFBW FCC 9
Total Contract Waste Handled 115,252
Third Party Residual Waste 195,702
Total inputs to Greatmoor EfW 310,954

3.0 High Heavens Waste Transfer Station

3.1 Background

High Heavens WTS is situated at the High Heavens Waste Treatment Complex in High Wycombe, located to the south of the county. This BC waste treatment complex contains several waste operations and the WTS was developed specifically for residual waste.

The WTS was constructed and commissioned by FCC Environment and entered into commercial operation in November 2015, in advance of the original June 2016 handover. It is used as the local delivery point by the Southern kerbside teams and HRCs to transfer residual waste to be processed at Greatmoor EfW. Waste is loaded onto articulated vehicles to transfer to Greatmoor EfW, reducing the number of transport miles required, compared with RCVs delivering directly to the EfW facility. This also reduces the time, costs and associated environmental impacts of the service, allowing the waste services to operate more efficiently in the areas that are needed. As a condition of planning permission, there is a designated transport route (45.3 miles) between High Heavens WTS and Greatmoor EfW, which maximises the use of major roads and motorways whilst reducing the use of minor roads that are not suitable for larger vehicles.

Map 2 - High Heavens WTS and Greatmoor EfW, location of council districts and transport route across Buckinghamshire.
Map showing FCC locations and transport routes

3.2 Waste inputs

During this contract year, High Heavens WTS processed over 75,319 tonnes of residual waste, demonstrating the benefits of bulking waste from a highly populated region. Table 2 identifies the amount of waste delivered to High Heavens WTS by supplier.

Table 2 - Tonnes of waste delivered into High Heavens WTS during the contract year by supplier
Waste inputs Tonnes
Chiltern and Wycombe Area 51,147
South Bucks Area 12,034
Household Recycling Centre Residual 7,200
Contaminated IN ex HH GFBW FCC 9
Shredded Bulky Waste 4,929
Total 75,319

3.3 Waste outputs

The majority of waste from High Heavens WTS is bulked residual waste destined for Greatmoor EfW.

No ad-hoc waste was delivered into High Heavens in the contract year.

3.4 Waste transfer

Transport savings through bulk transfer of waste from High Heavens WTS

FCC Environment transfers waste between High Heavens WTS and Greatmoor EfW using their own haulage vehicles.

Bulking operations of BC Contract Waste at High Heavens WTS successfully reduced transportation miles by 138,012 miles during this contract year. The breakdown of this is shown in Table 3.

The transportation saving is calculated by analysing the delivery tonnes and mileage travelled from each location and adding the bulking transfer mileage to Greatmoor EfW. The transportation mileage saving takes into account a predetermined route (45.3 Miles) from High Heavens WTS to Greatmoor EfW, as defined in the planning permission. We have used the theoretical vehicle mileage for direct deliveries into Greatmoor EfW, rather than the actual mileage to High Heavens WTS.

Since year 3 of the contract (April 2018 to March 2019), the average residual waste payload collected from High Heavens WTS improved by 1.4%, from 23.93t to 24.2t per collection. The improved payload is part of High Heavens WTS commitment to continual improvement in the area of transport savings by reducing the number of deliveries required throughout the year.

Table 3 - Summary of vehicle movements and associated miles saved due to bulk waste transfer from High Heavens WTS
Waste transferred Vehicle movements saved Miles saved due to bulk transfer of waste from High Heavens WTS
Kerbside Residual 11,420 120,442
Household Recycling Centre Residual 719 12,447
Shredded bulky waste 122 5,123
Total 12,261 138,012

3.5 Environmental management

High Heavens WTS operates under a Pollution Prevention and Control permit (PPC number XP3091ER) issued by the Environment Agency. There were no PPC permit breaches during this contract year.

Download Environmental Permit XP3091ER (PDF, 230KB) >

3.6 Complaints

During the contract year, one complaint was raised at High Heavens WTS. The complaint was related to load security after the bulk haulier left site. After investigation, this claim was substantiated. Sherwood & Sons Transport (the haulier at the time), followed this up with the driver using their internal processes.

No litter complaints were received during this contract year, which reflects the continued hard work by site staff to keep the site in good order.

4.0 Greatmoor EfW

4.1 Background

FCC Environment operate and maintain the Greatmoor EfW facility that is located to the north of Buckinghamshire County and adjacent to the FCC Environment Calvert Landfill site. Construction of the EfW plant commenced in September 2013 and the plant became fully operational in June 2016.

Greatmoor EfW processes non-recyclable household residual waste that would have previously been sent to landfill for disposal. The process involves incinerating the waste to recover energy, which then heats a boiler to produce high pressure, high temperature steam. This steam is used to drive a Steam Turbine Generator to generate enough electricity to power over 40,000 homes.

The EfW process generates by-products (residues), such as ash and combustion exhaust gases. The Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) is removed after the combustion stage and is continually inspected, with all non-combustible materials separated and recycled, with the remaining ash used as landfill aggregate. The Air Pollution Control residues (APCr or Fly Ash) produced are removed from the combustion exhaust gases and sent to a facility to be neutralised before being landfilled. Combustion exhaust gases are treated through a complex Flue Gas Treatment (FGT) process that removes harmful emissions before being released to the atmosphere. All emissions to the atmosphere are rigorously controlled and managed by the onsite team and continually monitored by the Environment Agency.

The process of producing Energy from Waste

The process of producing Energy from Waste

4.2 Waste inputs

A total of 310,695 tonnes of household residual waste were delivered and processed at Greatmoor EfW during this contract year.

The breakdown of waste inputs is presented in Table 4.

Table 4 - Tonnes of waste delivered into Greatmoor EfW during the contract year by supplier
Waste inputs Tonnes
Aylesbury Vale Area 36,046
Household Recycling Centres 3,881
Chiltern & Wycombe Area 6
High Heavens Waste Transfer Station 74,958
Total BC inputs 114,891
Third Party Residual Waste 195,702
Total inputs to Greatmoor EfW 310,593

4.3 Waste outputs

Power generation

The Steam Turbine Generator is designed to generate up to 32.8 megawatts (MW) of electrical power. Although the boiler and feed system are not designed to be able to sustain this level of output for anything other than short periods.

The facility house load can be up to 6 MW (but is generally around 3 MW) and so, on average, a consistent 26 MW of power is exported to the National Grid system. The contract base case expected exports of 23 MW of electrical power and the measurement of how many MW are generated over the specified amount of time is referred to as Megawatt hours (MWh). In this contract year Greatmoor EfW exported 211,900 MWh of electrical generation.

As highlighted in Figure 1, the amount of electricity generated varied over the contract year. The reduction in the amount of power exported in May was due to the planned annual outage, with other minor dips due to short turbine trips (see Section 7, Table 11).

Figure 1 - Monthly electrical power exported from Greatmoor EfW versus the contract base case

Residual outputs

From the 310,695 tonnes of residual waste treated at Greatmoor EfW, 75,514 tonnes of ash and residues were removed from the process, representing approximately 24.3% of all waste handled sent for landfill disposal. Table 5 provides a breakdown of residual waste outputs from Greatmoor EfW during the contract year.

Non-conforming waste materials are unsuitable for the EfW process and are removed during the pre- sorting and inspection stages. These materials are removed from the waste source to prevent impacting on the plant’s combustion efficiency and emissions control. As highlighted above, the volume of non-conforming waste material received at Greatmoor EfW is low and FCC Environment have waste inspection procedures to ensure the amount of non-conforming waste from Buckinghamshire Council and Third Party suppliers remains low.

Table 5 - Residual waste outputs from Greatmoor EfW
Waste outputs Tonnes
APCr (Before treatment) 10,001
IBA (Before separation) 65,488
Non-conforming waste 24.96
Total outputs 75,514

4.4 Environmental management

Greatmoor EFW is regulated by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Permit reference EPR/UP3734HT.

EfW plants incorporate abatement technology to control the emissions to atmosphere. Greatmoor EfW has Continuous Emissions Monitoring (CEMS) equipment installed in the exhaust gas system to constantly monitor for harmful emissions. This real time data is recorded and presented to the Environment Agency as evidence that the facility complies with the PPC emissions limits. The Greatmoor EfW operations staff continually analyse the CEMS emissions data to ensure the plant is operated with PPC regulations. If there is any approach to these limits, the operator will take action to prevent an environmental incident ensuring the requirements of the Environmental Permit are maintained.

IBA and APCr residues are periodically inspected and tested by an independent UKAS accredited laboratory to ensure the residue characterisation has not changed and is being appropriately managed.

Emission stack

The PPC Permit UP3734HT requires FCC Environment to prepare and submit quarterly and annual reports detailing the facility’s environmental performance. Regardless of this requirement, FCC Environment proactively manages the facility’s environmental performance with the Environment Agency in real time. As demonstrated in the following section, there were no Permit breaches at Greatmoor EfW during the contract year.

Download Environmental Permit UP3734HT (PDF, 1.8MB) >

Permit monitoring requirements

The emission monitoring requirements are set out in Schedule 3 of the PPC Permit. There are two types of substance emissions monitoring, continuous (all the time) and periodic (bi-annually).

Continuously monitored emissions are measured using CEMs technology. Exhaust gas sample probes extract concentration samples that analyse and measure each emission parameter. This information automatically updates on the plant control system and is recorded in a dedicated read only data acquisition system. The facility operations team constantly monitor this CEMS data against the plant performance.

Periodic extractive sampling is carried out twice a year by a competent UKAS accredited specialist contractor. Extractive exhaust gas samples are removed independently from the CEMS equipment and analysed in laboratory conditions.

Table 6 - Emission Monitoring Requirements
Substance Continuously Periodically
Particulates ✔
Total organic carbon ✔
Hydrogen chloride ✔
Carbon monoxide ✔
Sulphur dioxide ✔
Nitrogen oxides ✔
Ammonia ✔
Nitrous oxide ✔
Hydrogen fluoride ✔
Cadmium & Thallium ✔
Mercury ✔
Heavy metals ✔
Dioxins and furans ✔

Emissions limits

The Environmental Permit specifies Emission Limit Values (ELV) for all emission substance monitoring. The plant emissions must not exceed these limits to ensure compliance. In the event of plant abnormal operation affecting the emissions to atmosphere above the ELVs, the Environment Agency shall be formally notified. During this contract year no ELVs were exceeded.

The ELVs specified in the Permit refer to half hourly and 24-hour averages displayed in Table 7.

Table 7 - Half hourly average and daily average Emission Limit Values (ELV) by Substance
Substance Half hour average (mg/m³) Daily average (mg/m³)
Particulates 30 10
Hydrogen chloride 60 10
Nitrogen oxides 400 200
Sulphur dioxide 200 50
Total organic carbon 20 10
Substance 10 min average (mg/m³) Daily average (mg/m³)
Carbon monoxide 150 50

Continuous monitoring limits

Figure 2 depicts the maximum concentration percentage half hourly and full daily emission for the period of April 2021 to March 2022 (these are instantaneous values and not average percentage values). The graph shows that particulates exceeded the nominal half hourly ELV on 2 separate occasions in August and October 2021, however these are not a permit breach as they were very temporary spikes in readings caused by failure of dust abatement bags that were immediately isolated and replaced under “Abnormal operation” allowed by the Permit. The cause of the failures was later found to be a malfunction in the pulsing of dust bags resulting in a build up of particulates within the bags that caused them to tear and fail. The pulsing sequence was corrected and all the dust bags affected were replaced with new. Figure 2 also shows that in August 2021 the Daily average for HCL peaked at 9.74 mg/Nm³, which is just below the trigger of 10 mg/Nm³ and therefore compliant.

Figure 2 - Maximum percentage of emission value during contract year

Periodic monitoring

A requirement of the PPC Permit is to complete independent stack emission testing for Dioxins, Furans, Cadmium and Thallium, Heavy Metals, Mercury and Hydrogen Fluoride.

Figure 3 depicts the maximum concentration percentage levels of Dioxins and Furans for the period of April 2021 to March 2022. The graph shows that at no point during the contract year did the facility produce Dioxins and Furans that approached or exceeded the ELVs. N.B. these are instantaneous values and not average percentage values.

Figure 4 depicts the maximum concentration percentage levels of Cadmium & Thallium, Heavy Metals, Mercury and Hydrogen Fluoride for the period of April 2021 to March 2022. The graph shows that at no point during the contract year did the facility produce harmful emissions that approached or exceeded the ELVs. N.B these are instantaneous values and not average percentage values.

Figure 3 - Bi-annual emission values for Dioxins and Furans during the contract year
Figure 4 - Bi-annual emission values for Cadmium & Thallium, Heavy Metals, Mercury and Hydrogen fluoride during the contract year

Summary of Environmental Compliance

In addition to monitoring and reporting emissions to air, FCC Environment has a responsibility to monitor the quality of IBA produced by the facility to ensure the characterisation remains non- hazardous. All data taken and analysed by a UKAS accredited research facility showed that the IBA remains non-hazardous; ensuring the waste fuel and combustion system is as per design.

Greatmoor EfW’s environmental performance has consistently achieved the PPC Permit ELV levels throughout the contract year. Both continuous and periodic monitoring indicates that the EfW facility operates within Environment Agency regulations.

4.5 Complaints

During the contract year there were two complaints raised at Greatmoor EfW.

The first complaint was received in July 2021 when a resident contacted site regarding low water pressure on Lawn Hill. He has reported this to Thames Water who have investigated and stated that there are no issues with the supply. This was discussed at a community liaison meeting and no other residents reported an issue.

The second complaint was received in October 2021 when a member of the public reported an altercation with an FCC Lorry Driver on the A41 and was very upset and shaken. The site from which the vehicle had departed and where the driver is registered was contacted and a discussion held with the site manager, who implemented a Tool Box Talk to re-educate all drivers.

5.0 Integrated Management System

FCC Environment operates an Integrated Management System (IMS) to achieve and maintain ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 50001 accreditations. Greatmoor EfW and High Heavens WTS are operated and managed under the IMS requirements that have successfully achieved the British Standards Institution accreditations.

5.1 Internal auditing in this contract year

An IMS audit was conducted on 28th October 2021 at High Heavens WTS, with zero NCRs (Non- Conformance Reports) raised.

Greatmoor EfW received a BSI audit on 5th July 2021 and an internal IMS audit on the 28th March 2022. All NCRs received during the internal IMS audit were closed out during this contract year.

6.0 Maintenance Management

Maintenance management ensures the EfW plant remains reliable, safe to operate and demonstrates compliance with statutory legislation.

Greatmoor EfW utilises AX Dynamics for the maintenance management system. This software package allows for detailed maintenance activity scheduling, tracking and recording of plant history to ensure successful maintenance management. During the contract year, all maintenance activities were carried out in the determined periodicity.

Greatmoor EfW carries out an annual shutdown to undertake lifecycle maintenance and overhaul to maintain plant performance, reliability and safe operation. During this year, the annual shutdown was carried out in May – only 8 months after the previous outage, which was conducted in September 2020 after being delayed from the May due to COVID restrictions.

Main works carried out included replacing the carbon steel boiler tubes in the 1st and 2nd pass roof with Inconel tubes, due to reduced wall thickness. The Inconel tubes offer higher resistance to erosion from the flue gas and increase life cycle of these tubes. Other significant outage works included the continued replacement of refractory tiles due to the weak point with the first pass refractory tile fixings. These were dentified in 2010 and included in the modified life cycle plan. Non-destructive testing? (NDT) work was carried out to determine water tube thickness losses. Repairs were made where required and a detailed tube replacement plan for the 2022 outage has been developed. All mechanical works for grate, fans and conveyors was completed. An inspection of the ash extractor demonstrated that the refurbishment in 2020 was conducted to a high standard and so work for a complete replacement of the ash extractor could be deferred to the 2022 outage.

6.1 Maintenance issues

Plant Breakdowns

On occasion the EFW plant will breakdown due to mechanical and electrical faults, resulting in a full plant shut down. Table 8 identifies breakdown failures and downtime hours, with more details on each occurance provided in the following section.

Table 8 - Summary of major availability losses during contract year
Date Breakdown Returned to service date Total loss (hours)
04/07/2021 Loss of Control Oil Signal - turbine trip    04/07/2021 0
22/07/2021 Loss of Vacuum – operator error, turbine trip 22/07/2021 0
13/11/2021 Loss of Control Oil Signal - turbine trip    13/11/2021 0
20/02/2022 Loss of Primary Air Fan 20/02/2022 0.52 hrs
10/03/2022 Loss of Primary Air Fan 10/03/2022 0.14 hrs
16/03/2022 Operator Error – boiler & turbine trip 16/03/2022 0.25 hrs
Total 0.91 Hours (0.038 Days)
Operator Error

On two separate occasions the plant was subject to trips as a result of operator errors. One resulted in a turbine trip due to loss of vacuum when the wrong valve was opened whilst changing over air ejectors. The second resulted in a total plant trip (and the ending of our continuous run record), again when the wrong valve was selected whilst blowing through a site glass on the feed tank; this produced an indicated loss of feed water causing the feed pumps to trip, resulting in a low level in the boiler drum, which in turn tripped both the boiler and the turbine.

Both of these incidents were the result of experienced operators making spatial errors and operating the right valve but on the wrong part of the system. The events have made us look at how we control and check operator actions that carry a Risk of Trip (RoT), particularly when they are Infrequently Performed Tasks and Evolutions (IPTE). Identifying that an action carries a risk of trip and that it is an action that we do not carry out frequently are the first and most important steps in ensuring that we can put mitigation in place to prevent errors.

Turbine Emergency Stop Valve

Twice in the contract year the Turbine Emergency Stop Valve (ESV) drifted from the fully open position. Resulting in a loss of generated load. On both occasions the valve moved as a result of an indicated loss of control oil pressure. The loss signal was erroneous in both cases and is believed to have been caused by either a faulty data switch or faulty fibre optic cable. Switches and cables have been replaced and the fault has not re-occurred.

Post report note – the fault did re-occur in early April 2022 and so more investigations will take place in the May 2022 Outage.

Boiler Trips as a Result of Primary Air Fan Trips

On two separate occasions disturbances on the grid caused the power factor to drop (on one occaision to 0.63), which in turn caused the Primary air fan (PA) variable frequency drive (VFD) to trip. The loss of the PA fan initiated a boiler trip. On each occaision the VFD was reset quickly and the boiler returned to normal operation. An engineering solution to protect us from similar events is being sought.

7.0 Community liaison

FCC employs a dedicated Waste Awareness and Education Manager with the aim to raise public awareness of waste issues, including waste prevention, reuse and recycling through educational initiatives.

Greatmoor EfW has an on-site visitor centre which hosts site tours of the facility for local community groups and schools. Tours includes showing visitors the control room to demonstrate how the plant is operated, along with views of waste tipping into the bunker, and loading the system by the large grab crane. Visitors can also look inside the furnace inspection hatch to see waste being burnt.

As well as hosting on-site tours, FCC also carry out outreach visits to schools and other organisations within the county. The Waste Awareness and Education Manager attends school classes and assemblies to educate and raise awareness about recycling and waste management.

7.1 Greatmoor EfW Visitor Centre

The headline figures for 2021–22:

  • 892 Visitors
  • 94 Tours
  • 512 attended Outreach Events
  • 264 attended on-line sessions
  • 91.9% Excellent or Very Good feedback across 6 key questions

During the contract year there were a total of 892 people attended at the Visitor Centre over 94 tours.

Table 9 - Number of Visitors over the contract year
1st April 2021-31st March 2022
Adult Visitors 583
Under 16s 309
Total Visitors 892
No of Tours 94

Covid 19 impacted tours in the first six months of the contract year, with community visits to Greatmoor recommencing in September 2021. When the total number of visitors is broken down, the majority of visits came from the local community in Buckinghamshire and schools/higher education establishments, making up 87% of visitors, as demonstrated in Figure 5.

Figure 5 - Breakdown of visitors by sector

7.2 Outreach visits

At the beginning of the contract year the Education Manager was only able to offer on-line sessions to schools and community groups. Then as with the visits to Greatmoor, they were able to offer outreach talks and visits from September onwards.

Nine on-line sessions were held, engaging with 264 people (Table 10), highlighting that there was still an interest in learning about the EfW and waste management, despite access to schools etc. being restricted. Once in person outreach visits recommenced, 13 were undertaken to raise awareness on waste prevention, reuse and recycling. Once access to the EfW became available again, a total of 776 people took part in the outreach visits (Table 11).

Table 10 - Detail of online sessions
Type of Visit
No of Session
No of Under 16s
No of Adults
Primary Schools 3 134 5
Secondary Schools 5 95 8
Community Groups 1 0 22
Total 9 229 35
Table 11 - Detail of outreach visits
Type of Visit
No of Visits
No of Under 16s
No of Adults
No of Assemblies/Presentations
No of Activity Sessions
Primary Schools 3 153 52 0 3
Secondary Schools 1 15 8 0 0
Bucks Skills Show 1 20 24 0 0
Community Groups 8 11 229 7 0
Total 13 199 313 7 3

7.3 Summary of visitor feedback

FCC encourages feedback from those visiting Greatmoor EfW by providing feedback forms after tours. The information gathered in these forms is used to highlight positive comments and also identify areas for improvement, to continuously focus on delivering the best service possible. Feedback from visitors has been excellent throughout the year, with positive comments regarding the structure of the visits and suitable levels of detail for the audience, providing attendees with a classroom overview to gain an initial understanding followed by seeing the plant in action. This is demonstrated in Table 12, where feedback for the categories listed was consistently excellent or very good. Visitor feedback has also shown commitment to change behaviours towards recycling, reuse and waste minimisation.

Table 12 - Feedback summary
Tour Section % Excellent or Very Good 2021-2022
Introduction 98
Guided Tour 98
Visitor Centre Facilities 89
Visitor Centre Staff 99
Information provided before visit 84
Greatmoor website 83

7.4 Local Employment

There are a total of 52 members of staff working on the Contract, 46 at Greatmoor EfW and 6 at High Heavens WTS. 58% of the staff employed on the contract live within Buckinghamshire itself, with others from the local surrounding areas of Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Berkshire. There are a small number of staff who travel from outside of the local vicinity of the contract but the majority are from the area demonstrating good levels of local employment. Contract staff required for the Outage are recruited via a local agency from the local area.

7.5 Liaison Group meetings

Since April 2021 there have been four Greatmoor Community Liaison Group (CLG) meetings. The meetings occur regularly and from Service Commencement have been held in conjunction with the Calvert Landfill Community Liaison Group. These sessions are attended by local residents, parish councillors, interest groups, EA officers, councillors and FCC. The Greatmoor CLG is an opportunity for members to ask questions in relation to the EfW and raise issues of concern.

Group Meeting
Photo courtesy of Rupert Ansom

8.0 Conclusion

The sixth contract year has built on the successes of the past. Judicious investment, maintenance and operational decisions made in previous years are starting to pay dividends as seen by the improved reliability and hence enhanced performance.

FCC Environment is proud to report that we have continued to operate and maintain the Greatmoor EfW and High Heavens WTS facilities safely and with the utmost respect for the environment. The facilities continue to out-perform the expectations set out in the base case model.

High Heavens WTS operational availability has remained 100% for household residual waste deliveries. Greatmoor EfW operational availability achieved 94.3%, which was 5.3% above the base case (and 7 % better than the previous year) and so helped towards extra income for profit share and is a considerable achievement. Profitability was helped by rising electricity prices and solid base of 3rd party waste suppliers ensuring continuity in fuel supply.

Once again, both Greatmoor EfW and High Heavens WTS have met, or exceeded, all the requirements of their respective Environment PPC Permits throughout this contract year. This ongoing success further demonstrates FCC Environment’s credibility as a responsible operator and commitment to operating all plant and facilities within national regulations and guidelines.

High Heavens WTS continues to provide a significant reduction in waste transport mileage by bulking waste to be delivered to Greatmoor EfW.

In 2021, FCC Environment carried out a successful EfW plant outage achieving all the required, mandated and elective maintenance work, without accident or environmental incident and returned the plant back to operations successfully. This outage contributed (along with high standards of operation and maintenance) to a sustained period of 100% availability and longest waste to waste run in the plant’s history at 293 days.

The gradual reductions in COVID related restrictions has seen the resumption of physical visits to the Greatmoor site. The visitor centre has also been developed with the addition of an interactive whiteboard displaying real time plant information.

Yet again neither Greatmoor EfW nor High Heavens WTS have had a single Lost Time Accident for either FCC Environment employees or their contractor partners in this contract year. However, again and regrettably, there have been some minor accidents resulting in harm to workers on site. FCC Environment believe that all accidents are avoidable and are committed to protecting their staff, contractors and site visitors: as a result all accidents were investigated and there is a continuous overview looking for common causes or threads.

For more information about FCC Greatmoor, please visit https://www.greatmoor.co.uk

For more information about FCC Environment, please visit https://www.fccenvironment.co.uk/

For more information about Energy from Waste from Buckinghamshire Council, please visit https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/waste-and-recycling/energy-from-waste/

9.0 Glossary

By products of the flue gas cleaning process and typically include ash, carbon and lime due to fly ash materials emitted from the combustion process and injection of neutralising agents to clean the gases before being released to the atmosphere. These materials are hazardous and are removed and disposed of by authorised licence holders for appropriate collection and disposal.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing closed-circuit television, road-rule enforcement cameras, or cameras specifically designed for the task.

BC is the administrative body governing the county of Buckinghamshire who are responsible for the collection and disposal of the county’s residual waste and therefore act as both the Waste Disposal Authority and Waste Collection Authority. BC are in a 30 year contract with FCC for the treatment of this waste for energy recovery as a more sustainable alternative than landfill disposal.

Carbon monoxide is a common naturally occurring chemical but can also be produced from human activity. It is a colourless, odourless, poisonous gas.

An organised group involving local community representatives, residents and other interest groups to facilitate communication, share information and encourage engagement for those who may be affected by the operation of the waste management facilities. These sessions are hosted by the council and operators to provide a transparent platform for attendees to ask questions.

Continuous Emissions Monitoring system (CEMs) technologies are used to constantly monitor emissions from the Energy from Waste process against the emission limit values specified within the Environmental Permit. Gas samples are extracted using a sample probe and analysers are used to measure concentrations of each parameter.

Waste materials that are included in the residual waste treatment contract between FCC and BCC. This includes all residual household waste collected across the county by the district councils and residual wastes disposed of at the Household Recycling Centres.

Dioxins (polychlorinated dibenzodioxin, PCDD) and Furans (polychlorinated dibenzofuran, PCDF) are families of complex chemicals containing chlorine. There are several hundred dioxin substances. They are crystalline solids which dissolve in organic (carbon-containing) solvents, fats and oils – but not in water.

Emission Limit Values (ELV) are specified limits for various pollutant emissions from the Energy from Waste process and are set out as conditions of the Environmental Permit. Emissions must be monitored against the ELV for each pollutant and reported to the Environment Agency. Emissions must remain within the specified limits to maintain compliance with the Environmental Permit.

Incineration process in which residual waste is converted into thermal energy to generate steam that drives turbines for electricity production. Energy from waste is a method of recovery and therefore preferable over landfill disposal.

The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), with responsibilities relating to the protection and enhancement of the environment.

The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 requires waste management facilities to obtain an environmental permit before they are allowed to operate. Both Greatmoor EfW and High Heavens WTS are operated under Environmental Permits, which are regulated by the Environment Agency.

FCC Environment is one of the UK's leading waste and resource management companies who has been contracted by BCC for the treatment of the county’s residual waste.

FGT is the cleaning process to remove pollutants from flue gasses emitted during combustion. The treatment includes a series of chemical processes and filters to neutralise gasses and remove particulates before releasing to the atmosphere.

A metal of relatively high density, or of high relative atomic weight and includes Arsenic, Antimony, Cadmium, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Lead, Manganese, Mercury, Nickel, Thallium, Vanadium.

A facility where members of the public can reuse, recycle and dispose of their household waste.

Hydrogen chloride is a naturally occurring chemical, but can also occur in manufacturing processes.  It is a colourless, reactive gas with a strong, pungent odour.  In solution with water it forms hydrochloric acid.

Under normal conditions, Hydrogen fluoride will be a colourless gas, which has a sharp, pungent smell. It is highly toxic and irritating, but non-flammable. Hydrogen fluoride is however usually found as a strong solution in water, whereby it is Hydrofluoric acid. Hydrofluoric acid is an extremely strong acid. It will severely corrode metals, glass, minerals and many organic (carbon-containing) substances – and will release highly flammable hydrogen in the process.

Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) is a form of ash produced as a residue from the incineration of waste in Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities. This material is discharged during combustion and is often processed to recover ferrous metals prior to onward treatment or disposal of the ash products.

An Integrated Management System (IMS) combines related management systems of a business into one system for easier management and operations. Quality, Environmental, and Safety management systems are often combined and managed as an IMS through combined policies and procedures for more efficient and robust management processes.

A disposal site where residual waste is buried, spread into layers and compacted. Modern landfills are engineered to prevent any pollutants from leaking into the surrounding soil and water courses. Landfill is considered the least sustainable method of waste disposal and therefore other methods of recycling and energy recovery are sought before landfill.

A unit of electricity equal to 1 million watts, or 1,000 Kilowatts. This unit of electricity is the constant used to represent the power generated from energy from waste recovery. Greatmoor EfW is designed to generate 22MW of electricity which is sufficient to power 36,000 homes.

The term 'nitrogen oxides' (NOx) usually covers two gases - nitric oxide (NO), which is a colourless, odourless gas and nitrogen dioxide (N2O), which is a reddish-brown gas with a pungent odour. These contribute to acid rain, depletion of the ozone layer and have detrimental effects on health. They are also greenhouse gases.

Particulates is the term used to describe tiny particles in the air, made up of a complex mixture of soot, organic and inorganic materials with a particle size less than or equal to 10 microns diameter (10 microns is equal to one hundredth part of a mm).

A vehicle commonly referred to as a dustcart specially designed to collect waste and/or recycling, and transport the collected materials to an onwards waste treatment facility.

Waste tonnages that remain after reuse, recycling and composting activities have taken place. This typically refers to everything that is disposed of in household black bin bags.

Sulphur dioxide is man-made and naturally occurring colourless gas with a penetrating odour. It dissolves in water to form an acidic solution. Sulphur dioxide gas is one of the main chemicals that causes acid rain, which can damage crops and forests and acidify sensitive soils and water bodies.

Residual waste that is not included in the residual waste treatment contract between FCC and BCC. Third party waste includes other municipal waste contracts that FCC have with nearby local authorities. Third party waste is processed at Greatmoor to fill the capacity of the plant, increase landfill diversion and maximise electricity generation for Buckinghamshire.

Total Organic Carbon is a measurement of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). VOC is a term used to classify a large group of liquids and gases (containing carbon) that are gaseous or easily vaporize at room temperature.

A waste transfer station is a building used for the bulking of residual waste prior to onward transfer of waste to a treatment or disposal facility. The transfer station operating on the residual waste contract is High Heavens located in High Wycombe in the South of the County. This site services the southern district councils whose RCVs tip residual waste on site prior to bulk waste transfer to Greatmoor EfW.