Our Core Businesses
Viridor
Overview
Viridor is one of the UK’s leading and fastest growing waste management, recycling and renewable energy companies. It won the National Recycling and Waste Management Business of the Year award in 2010. Over the past 10 years we have evolved from waste collection and disposal into a more broadly based resource recovery business with major activities in recycling and waste-based renewable energy generation. At the same time we have increased our profits at an average rate of 20% (PBIT plus joint ventures) per annum since 2001. 46% of our profit contribution now comes from recovering value from waste.
We have core competencies in landfill disposal, recycling and waste-based renewable energy generation. The company operates materials recycling facilities (MRFs), waste transfer stations, treatment plants, household waste recycling sites (HWRS), composting facilities, landfills and renewable energy generation facilities in most regions of the UK and has a collection fleet focussed on the industrial and commercial market.
Continuing developments in the UK’s waste management and renewable energy policies, driven by climate change and environmental awareness, create major opportunities for Viridor.
Our strategy is to grow and add value by:
- proactively developing new recycling operations to meet ambitious EU/UK targets
- successfully exploiting the huge potential in waste-based renewable energy generation
- capitalising on our strong position in landfill waste disposal.
Viridor’s landfill market consists of municipal, commercial and industrial wastes, along with certain other special types of waste. Landfill is currently the major final disposal route for these wastes.
Viridor is a major landfill site operator within the UK with a total consented landfill capacity of approximately 69 million cubic metres as at 31 March 2011. Viridor is at present filling this at a rate of around four million cubic metres per annum, which results in an average remaining life of 17 years at current rates of fill, which is significantly longer than for the industry as a whole.
Gas produced from decomposing waste on landfill sites is increasingly used to generate electricity. The Government’s stated strategy is to increase the percentage of electricity generated from all renewable sources to a target of 15% in 2015. Viridor has called on the Government to set a target of 6% of electricity to be generated from waste sources by 2015. The UK has an EU target of generating 15% of total energy from renewable sources by 2020, which is likely to require over 30% of electricity to be generated from renewable sources. Historically, renewable energy projects were supported by the Government through the NFFO scheme. Under this fixed price, Retail Prices Index (RPI) contracts with terms of up to 15 years were awarded to the most competitive renewable projects in five tranches of bidding. In April 2002 the NFFO regime was replaced by the Renewables Obligation (RO) regime. Under the RO, eligible generators receive the brown energy price plus the value of the associated Renewables Obligation Certificate.
The overall price for electricity supplied under the RO regime is currently substantially higher than that achieved under the most recent NFFO scheme. This has facilitated the increase of Viridor’s total landfill gas power generation capacity to 108 MW at 31 March 2011, compared with 27 MW in March 2002. Of this power generation capacity, 69% is under the RO regime and 31% is under NFFO. Viridor’s existing NFFO contracts end in tranches over the next five years after which the capacity can transfer to ROCs.
To take advantage of opportunities presented by the Government’s developing waste strategy, Viridor is pursuing EfW schemes detailed in the Business Review (including, where feasible, CHP) and a range of recycling or related treatment opportunities, including materials recycling facilities, mechanical-biological treatment, anaerobic digestion, composting and household waste recycling sites. These facilities may be combined in integrated waste management contracts.
Page last updated: June 2011