Still, this is a more modest growth than expected. âThe waste industry has experienced a turbulent 2022 and is adapting to a new reality in Europeâ, says CEO at Geminor, Kjetil Vikingstad.
The total tonnage handled by Geminor in 2022 ended at 1,815,281 tonnes â up from 1,670,907 tonnes in 2021. Residual waste for energy recovery (RDF/SRF) is growing by as much as 14 percent, accounting for more than 2/3 of the total volume handled by Geminor in Europe last year.
Waste wood for material recycling and energy recovery, the second-largest fraction after RDF, fell by 4.5 percent last year, while cardboard and paper (RCP) fell by 21 percent. The tonnage of hazardous waste is still modest compared to the bigger fractions, but increased last year by as much as 41 percent. The handling and treatment of waste plastics, which has been a focus area for Geminor and partner company Quantafuel, more than tripled in 2022 compared to the previous year.
âIt is gratifying to see that we have managed to increase our volumes quite significantly from 2021. At the same time, we had expected a somewhat larger increase. A turbulent year caused by high energy prices, strong inflation, and lower business activity has led to a reduction in waste volumes and hence a new market situationâ, explains Kjetil Vikingstad.
Germany becomes an importing market
âThe political and economic changes we saw in 2022 â some of them triggered by the Russian attack on Ukraine â brought consequences for the recycling industry in all the countries where Geminor is presentâ, says Vikingstad.
âWe have had to adapt to a new reality in some of the markets in Europe. Countries such as Germany and Finland have gone from being exporting to becoming importing markets. In the UK, an increasing number of national industry players have taken a larger share of the waste volumes, leading to less export of waste resources. We have increased our tonnage in the UK by securing more national offtake in 2022â, says Vikingstad.
âIn Norway, which is our largest market, we have handled roughly the same tonnage as in 2021. Last year we experienced a more stable but competitive Norwegian marketâ, says Vikingstad.
âThe international common denominator for 2022 is a substantial increase in the competition for waste volumes in the marketâ, says the CEO of Geminor.
Growth in Southern Europe
At the same time, Geminor has increased shipments of waste resources from the surplus markets of Southern and Eastern Europe. This export and supply have assisted in balancing and stabilizing the market.
âIn 2022, Italy has been an important export market and secured supplies of high-demand waste resources to players in both Central Europe and the Nordics. The market in Poland also continues to develop, and we have had several deliveries of Refuse-derived Fuel (RDF) to Germany, among other countries. We have also had a good year in Denmark, where we managed to increase exports significantly within waste woodâ, says Vikingstad.
âIf 2022 has taught us anything, it is the importance of being present in several markets. Therefore, our ambition is to contribute to developing new surplus markets, such as France, so that we can secure the supply to European offtakers in the coming yearsâ, concludes Kjetil Vikingstad.
