§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what plans she has to monitor emissions of methane from waste composting schemes; [29618]
(2) what assessment she has made of the suitability of methane produced by waste composting schemes for use in combined heat and power plants; [29609]
(3) what assessment she has made of the level of methane emissions arising from (a) existing and (b) new waste composting schemes; and if she will make a statement. [29617]
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§ Margaret BeckettComposting is an aerobic biodegradation process which produces carbon dioxide, and appropriately managed processes will not emit methane. The Environment Agency is currently developing technical guidance on composting operations, which will inform their monitoring of these operations.
Methane can be obtained from the anaerobic digestion of biodegradable materials (usually in the form of a slurry) and has previously been employed to treat single stream biomass wastes, such as sewage sludge, with energy recovery. However, the indications are that the process is less effective for mixed wastes (such as the organic fraction of municipal solid waste) and is unlikely with the present state of development to be widely applicable to wastes.
The Department of Trade and Industry is undertaking a project to investigate the sustainability of using methane from waste in small turbines in CHP plants.