Power in Denmark is increasingly being generated in plants burning waste imported from England. The practice is being called an economical and environmental boon on both sides of the equation.
The AVØ incinerator in Frederikshavn produces heating and power for the area by burning trash from England.
“It is mainly construction waste like pieces of wood, cardboard and plastic from Manchester,” AVØ operations manager Orla Frederiksen told DR Nyheder. “I guess we have 600 tonnes here that provide a good combustible mixture we can then turn into district heating and power.”
Good for the bottom line
The incinerator in Frederikshavn has doubled its imports of the English waste in the past year.
Incinerators in Aalborg and Hjørring are also burning British trash.
“The heating we produce using the waste is cheaper than what we can generate with natural gas,” said AVØ head Tore Vedelsdal. “And the British are interested because they lack incinerators and pay heavy taxes on landfills.”
Good for the environment
Vedelsdal said that the environmental angle works for both countries.
“They save on having to bury the waste and we save on the consumption of natural gas,” he said.
Environmental protection agency Miljøstyrelsen said that last year up to 200,000 tonnes of non-hazardous waste from England was incinerated in Denmark – nearly six percent of the total volume of combustible material used.