A reduction in waste volumes in Europe, in addition to ongoing transport challenges, makes it harder to predict access to secondary fuels this coming winter season, according to Geminor, a Norway-based recycling company specialising in refuse-derived fuel (RDF), solid recovered fuel (SRF) and other waste for material recycling. The company is encouraging industry players to increase their stocks of RDF and SRF before the winter season.  

A turbulent economy and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine have led to a drop in commercial and household waste across Europe. At the same time, reduced transport capacity all over the continent is extending the challenges for the waste-to-energy and waste industry.  “We are doing all we can to stem a potential lack of secondary fuels this coming season. Our goal now is, therefore, to grind and bale as much waste as possible where this is possible during the summer. In our HUB in Landskrona, Sweden, we want to store as many as 10,000t of RDF from Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In Oxeløsund, we will store around 6000t of SRF from the UK,” explains Per Mernelius, country manager for Geminor in Sweden.  

“In Denmark there is also an increased interest in long-term planning and storage,” added Country Manager for Geminor Denmark, Kasper Thomsen. “Our off-takers in Odense and Esbjerg have chosen to take in 7000t and 5000t respectively over the summer to build up a stock for the coming winter. This is a direct consequence of the lack of waste that the industry experienced in Denmark last winter.” 

For some time the waste market has been based on “last-minute” delivery, but over the last two years, downstream players have noticed that waste volumes are not as easy to get hold of in the winter season, Geminor notes. The seasonal variations in volumes are getting more noticeable, also because of the reduction in waste exports from the UK.

“The waste industry is better served with a stable and predictable supply of secondary fuels, which also provides more stable market prices. It is easier to achieve this by increasing storage capacity for the winter months,” warns Kjetil Vikingstad, CEO at Geminor.