The Energy from Waste Podcast

The Energy from Waste Podcast

Brought to you by the team behind the annual EfW Conference and the Energy from Waste Network, this podcast will feature industry leaders discussing the latest developments, technologies and policies in EfW

  1. Sep 23

    UK Plastics Recycling: Can Policy Keep Up with the Infrastructure Challenge?

    What will it take to build a viable plastics recycling market in the UK, and is current policy giving industry enough certainty to invest? In the latest EfW Net Podcast, host Stephen Wise is joined by Grahame Woods, Head of Policy at Viridor, and Jamie Warmington, Director at Ceres Waste, Renewables and Environment, to explore the challenges facing UK plastics recycling infrastructure. The conversation looks at the impact of recent policy delays, including changes to the timetable for the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and the collection of flexible plastics, and what that uncertainty means for investment in new recycling capacity. Grahame and Jamie also discuss the economics behind mechanical and chemical recycling, the challenge of developing reliable markets for recycled materials, and why recycled plastics continue to struggle to compete with cheaper virgin polymers. The discussion also covers: • Creating stronger markets for recycled plastics• The investment challenge facing new recycling infrastructure• Chemical recycling and the potential role of pyrolysis oil• Why policy certainty matters for long-term infrastructure projects• End-of-waste rules and regulatory barriers• UK and European recycling markets and policy alignment• Traceability, transparency and waste crime• Oil price volatility and its impact on recycled versus virgin plastics• How policy could better incentivise plastics-to-plastics recycling With recycling infrastructure taking years to finance, develop and build, the episode asks a fundamental question: how can government and industry create the long-term conditions needed to make investment in UK plastics recycling stack up? For more industry news, podcasts, articles and events, visit EfW Net at network.efwconference.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    UK Plastics Recycling: Can Policy Keep Up with the Infrastructure Challenge?
  2. Aug 3

    Energy Security, Investment and the Future of Waste Infrastructure

    What does it take to turn an energy-from-waste or anaerobic digestion proposal into a viable, investable project? In this episode of the Energy from Waste Podcast, Georgie Green visits Paul Winter Consulting in Andover to speak with founder Paul Winter. Drawing on more than 40 years of experience delivering major infrastructure projects, Paul explains how his team supports investors and developers from initial feasibility and financial modelling through to construction, commissioning and handover. They discuss the UK’s growing energy-security challenge, the importance of reliable baseload power and the role energy from waste and large-scale anaerobic digestion could play alongside wind, solar and nuclear energy. Paul also explores why waste should increasingly be viewed as a valuable energy resource, the challenges of securing investment, and the planning, permitting and regulatory hurdles that can delay projects before construction has even begun. The conversation also examines carbon capture, including its cost, the lack of a mature market for captured carbon and the need for practical infrastructure to support ambitious net-zero targets. Listen now to discover how carbon capture could help shape the future of Energy from Waste and the UK's low-carbon economy. For more industry news, podcasts, articles and events, visit EfW Net at network.efwconference.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Energy Security, Investment and the Future of Waste Infrastructure
  3. Jun 3

    Waste Crime in the UK: Tackling Illegal Dumping, Enforcement Gaps and the Cost to Communities

    Waste crime remains one of the biggest challenges facing the UK waste and resource sector, costing taxpayers millions while causing significant environmental harm. In this episode of the EfW Podcast, host Dr Stephen Wise is joined by Dr Anna Willetts, Partner at Gunnercooke, and Gareth Rollings, Head of Waste at West Sussex County Council and Chair of the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC), to explore the scale of the problem and why it continues to persist. The discussion examines recent developments in waste crime enforcement, the growing number of large-scale illegal waste sites being uncovered, and the challenges faced by regulators, local authorities and landowners. Anna and Gareth share their perspectives on where current approaches are falling short, the impact on communities and taxpayers, and whether recent government initiatives will be enough to make a meaningful difference. They also explore the economics behind waste crime, the role of organised criminal activity, the difficulties of tracing responsibility through complex waste supply chains, and the importance of prevention rather than simply dealing with the consequences once sites have been established. From fly-tipping and illegal waste operations to enforcement powers, regulation and future policy, this conversation provides a candid look at one of the most pressing issues facing the waste sector today. For more industry news, podcasts, articles and events, visit the EfW Network at network.efwconference.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Waste Crime in the UK: Tackling Illegal Dumping, Enforcement Gaps and the Cost to Communities
  4. Feb 9

    Carbon Capture, Heat and the Future of EfW: Making Negative Emissions Work

    Alban Forster speaks with Mike Maudsley, CEO of enfinium, on carbon removals, CCS business models and why EfW could become a net-negative powerhouse In this episode of the Energy from Waste podcast, host Alban Forster is joined by Mike Maudsley, Chief Executive Officer of enfinium, to explore how carbon capture and carbon removals could reshape the future of EfW in the UK. Drawing on enfinium’s operational scale and long-term investment outlook, Mike explains why energy from waste is uniquely positioned to deliver negative emissions, how carbon capture can become commercially viable, and why residual waste will remain part of the system even as recycling improves. The conversation also looks beyond CCS alone, examining the role of heat networks, private wire energy solutions, and emerging technologies that could reduce the cost and energy intensity of carbon capture over time. From infrastructure and policy timelines to carbon pricing, innovation and investment confidence, this episode offers a practical and optimistic view of how EfW can play a leading role in the UK’s net zero transition, not just today, but over the next decade and beyond. Many of the themes raised in this episode will also be explored in more detail at the Energy from Waste Conference 2026, taking place in London March 4th, where industry leaders will come together to examine the EfW sector. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Carbon Capture, Heat and the Future of EfW: Making Negative Emissions Work

About

Brought to you by the team behind the annual EfW Conference and the Energy from Waste Network, this podcast will feature industry leaders discussing the latest developments, technologies and policies in EfW