Turning Kent's domestic rubbish into power

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BBC South East's Yvette Austin looks at the issues

In 2009 the south east region produced 1,230,000 tonnes of household rubbish.

Of this, 570,000 tonnes went to landfill, at a cost of £18,432,000 in landfill tax alone.

We are told that we must recycle more and bury less, but there is also a third alternative used little here, but widely adopted in other parts of Europe.

When their waste is burned the steam produced is used to generate electricity.

The waste incinerator at Allingham near Maidstone currently produces electricity but it does not use the heat from burning the waste, instead it escapes into the atmosphere. In Europe waste incinerators are using the heat they produce.

Waste to power in Denmark

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Hot water for domestic heating is produced by incinerating domestic waste

In 2009, Denmark produced 16,000,000 tonnes of rubbish, of which 70% was recycled, and 23% was burned.

In Horsholm in Denmark an incinerator run by RenoSam uses the heat it produces to heat water for central heating. Insulated pipes deliver the hot water to homes within 30km radius of the incinerator. The ash from the waste is then used for building roads after any toxic material has been treated.

"It's a shame and a waste of good energy just to produce electricity out of the waste because you cannot use the same amount of calories from the water when you only produce power. When you produce heat as well you can us much more of the energy in the waste", said Jan Olsen, Nordforbraending Waste to Energy.

Waste to power in Kent

Three new plants to generate energy from rubbish are being planned for north Kent. It is part of a long-term aim by the county council to stop sending our waste to landfill sites. The proposals by three different companies are all near the villages of Iwade and Kemsley, north of Sittingbourne.

Landfill is no longer seen as an option on environmental grounds, and some experts think turning waste into energy could also help bridge the predicted looming gap in our power supply.

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Three new plants are being planned for the Sittingbourne area