Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) was flying high this week as a topic of debate at the Energy From Waste Conference in London, organised by SAE Media Group, where our director Mark Terrell was speaking. While there is growing interest in using waste as a feedstock for SAF, at Andusia we would question if that’s the most sustainable option.
The general consensus among delegates at the event was that there is not enough waste in the UK to support the increasing number of SAF projects taking flight on our shores. This risks waste being imported into the UK simply to meet a need that could be better met by using other SAF feedstocks such as used cooking oils and agricultural residues.
We would argue that residual waste already has a great home to go to – there are a wealth of highly efficient energy-from-waste (EfW) plants across Europe generating sustainable heat and electricity for district heating schemes from the RDF we supply, and a growing number of modern EfW plants coming on-board in the UK that will also have the option to run at a higher efficiency by utilising combined heat and power (CHP).
Should we not be taking advantage of this infrastructure first, which serves real community need, before thinking about jet planes? Maybe we need to establish a spin-off waste hierarchy for RDF, similar to the one that’s been created for food waste, to ensure residual waste treatment is prioritised along the most appropriate path. We’d be interested to hear your thoughts!