European waste management company Geminor said it handled more than 1.73 million tonnes of waste material in 2021 with recycling of wood, waste paper and plastics all having increased sharply.
Handling of feedstock for material recycling increased by 38% to 230,000 tonnes, it said.
Geminor processed a total of 1.7 million tonnes, with refuse-derived and solid-recovered fuels accounting for some two-thirds of this. Sales of these two goods declined slightly, but this was offset by growth in other areas.
Geminor said handling of waste wood increased by 70,800 tonnes to 382,727 tonnes.
Handling and shipment of recovered waste paper increased by 36% to 88,000 tonnes, and waste plastics from 5,300 to 10,500 tonnes.
The amount of hazardous waste dealt with increased by almost 70% to 29,000 tonnes.
Chief executive Kjetil Vikingstad said 2021 “was a turbulent year for the waste industry in Europe”.
He said Covid-19 had meant another challenging year in terms of volumes, logistics, transport and varying market mechanisms.
The RDF market, in particular, has seen lower volumes in circulation due to reduced exports from countries such as the UK and Finland, although there was some growth elsewhere.
