Environment Report 2015

ENVIRONMENT REPORT 2015

Last year, the majority of waste was landed in the UK, with just two per cent transferred to the Netherlands for processing 39 . Figure 20 opposite shows the waste disposal route of all wastes returned to shore by waste port.

The amount of waste landed at each port and its subsequent disposal route is influenced by the waste generation location as well as the availability of waste contractors and disposal facilities near the port. Just under 160,000 tonnes (84 per cent) of the total waste returned to shore landed in the north east of Scotland at ports in Aberdeen and Peterhead. Of this, 41 per cent or 66,000 tonnes was sent to a landfill for disposal, while 31 per cent (49,000 tonnes) was designated as “other” for other disposal routes such as treatment of aqueous wastes, composting and land spreading. Over 43,000 tonnes (27 per cent) were reused or recycled. The high proportion of wastes recycled in Lerwick is due to the level of decommissioning in the northern North Sea area, while the availability of waste-to-energy facilities in England may contribute to the higher quantities of wastes disposed of through this route, particularly for wastes landed in Heysham, Imminghamand Great Yarmouth. Although the amount of waste that is reused and recycled is steadily rising, there has also been an increase in the mass of waste returned to landfill in recent years. The cause of this increase in landfill waste is not clear, however, it will be analysed by the oil and gas industry through Oil & Gas UK’s Waste Technical Group.

Figure 19: Total 40 Waste Generated Offshore by Waste Disposal Route

Landfill

Reuse and Recycle

Other*

Incineration

Waste to Energy

90,000

80,000

70,000

60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

Waste (Tonnes)

20,000

10,000

0

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

* 'Other' includes any other disposal route such as treatment of aqueous wastes, composting and land spreading

Source: EEMS June 2015

39 Note: the disposal route for 0.2 per cent of waste was categorised as “not applicable” or was not specified. 40 Total waste includes drilling, operational and decommissioning wastes.

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