Sterecycle is a waste management company specialising in advanced systems for the treatment and recycling of municipal wastes. We finance, build, own and operate plants to provide recycling services to local authorities using our patented advanced steam autoclave system.
18 million tonnes of municipal waste are landfilled every year in the UK. The EU Landfill Directive requires member states to dramatically reduce the amount of waste that is landfilled or face heavy fines. The UK government is committed to reducing landfill and increasing recycling, evidenced by the continuing increases in Landfill Tax.
Landfill Tax has increased from £12 per tonne in 2003 to £24 per tonne in 2007 and will reach £48 per tonne by 2010. However, the UK government's introduction of the Landfill Allowance Scheme on 1st April 2005 has placed even greater financial pressure on councils to secure waste treatment technology services. For every tonne of organic waste (around 60% of the waste stream) that a council sends to landfill over its annual landfill allowance, it must pay an additional penalty of £150 per tonne (£200 per tonne in Wales), in addition to the cost of landfill and the Landfill Tax.
The sterecycle® system is capable of recycling and recovering up to 80% of domestic waste with a sterile and environmentally-friendly process. The system is cleaner, safer, more cost effective and more efficient than technologies such as standard mechanical sorting "Material Recycling Facilities", in-vessel composting, Mechanical-Bio-Treatment, advanced thermal treatment and incineration. Indeed, sterecycle® can be integrated with existing systems to pre-recover recyclables and dramatically improve system performance.
