Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Duncan of Springbank on 5 November 2019 (HL460), how they calculate the greenhouse gas emissions from a tonne of domestic waste being processed in an energy from waste incinerator.

Domestic, or household, waste is currently included within the fuel category “MSW” (Municipal Solid Waste) in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory. MSW refers to waste collected by municipalities or other local authorities and includes sources other than domestic waste.

The emissions per tonne of MSW processed in an energy from waste incinerator is calculated using the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Guidelines. Figures are provided for methane and nitrous oxide along with separate figures for carbon (fossil) emissions from biodegradable MSW and non-biodegradable MSW. The proportions of total MSW that is biodegradable and non-biodegradable is calculated using data from DUKES (the Digest of UK Energy Statistics). These four figures are combined to give total greenhouse gas emissions emitted per tonne of MSW processed in an energy from waste incinerator.