Geminor UK, part of Norway-headed secondary materials and fuels supplier Geminor A/S, is currently experiencing a sharp increase in the demand for materials for recovery and recycling, both domestic and for export. The company handled over 46 000 tonnes of waste for recycling and recovery in July 2022, which according to Oliver Caunce, Senior Account and Development Manager at Geminor UK, is a company record for July volumes and an increase of 75 percent from July 2021.
Data from July shows that Geminor UK increased the handling of waste volumes for recycling and recovery from 26 400 tonnes in 2021 to 46 275 tonnes this year, which is an increase of 75 percent and a company record for the summer month.
Both domestic and overseas off-takers are preparing for a season of an energy shortage, said Oliver Caunce, Senior Account and Development Manager at Geminor UK.
From the total volumes handled during July, 10 393 tonnes of waste wood, refuse-derived fuel (RDF), and municipal solid waste (MSW) were delivered to UK facilities.
The export reached a total of 35 885 tonnes, which included RDF, solid recovered fuel (SRF), and waste wood being supplied from Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England.
Geminor loaded 11 bulk vessels from six different ports during the month of July.
In comparison, Geminor handled 6 319 tonnes for UK facilities and 20 101 tonnes for export in July last year.
From drop to sudden growth
According to market intelligence consultants Footprint Services, Geminor has for some time held the position as the biggest exporter of RDF and SRF from England.
However, the first six months of 2022 have shown a moderate drop in exported RDF volumes, first and foremost to Scandinavia.
A sudden increase in demand in July represents a change in this development and, according to Oliver Caunce, is primarily related to the need for energy security for this coming winter.
The European and Nordic WtE (waste-to-energy) plants are preparing for the prospect that some economies may go into recession and have less local waste available. Any means of energy production that is not linked to Russia is therefore favorable at the moment. The markets that are normally off during the summer, such as Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, are now busy taking material to store for the coming winter, Oliver Caunce explained.
There has also been significant disruption to the German waste market due to geo-political and macroeconomic factors.
This has motivated some receivers to import through summer due to future uncertainty over supply, said Oliver Caunce.
Caunce expects this demand to continue into the autumn.
We will be monitoring the market closely as we are moving into a more unpredictable period. Developing our supply chains and supplier bases will be important in the effort to provide enough material for energy recovery and recycling all over Europe this coming season, concluded Oliver Caunce.
