EI Study Finds Waste Fuel Usage Rising Among Commercial Industrial Furnaces

BIFs see a 6.2 percent volume gain. Prices rise slightly. More facilities announce plans to leave the waste fuel market.

October 27, 1999 — For Immediate Release

Contact: Jamie Rosenberg Phone: 612/831-2473 Ex. 14

Industrial furnaces saw increasing volumes of hazardous waste derived fuel coming into their facilities for the second consecutive year. Volumes rose by 6.2 percent in 1998. The volume increases are believed to be the result of increased production outputs by manufacturers resulting in the creation of more waste. However, the possibility exists that the changes could reflect a change in the mix of wastes at commercial incinerators.

At the same time, a number of commercial boilers and industrial furnaces left the waste fuel market or announced plans to leave in the near future. "Exits from the waste fuel market could bring the supply and demand into closer balance within the next few years," says EI researcher Jamie Rosenberg. "One unknown factor, however, is the extent to which remaining players in the market will increase their hazardous waste fuel burning capacity to offset the market exits."

While remaining facilities have no desire to repeat the oversupplied/low price conditions that have characterized much of the 1990s, expansion of capacity is necessary to achieve a minimum percentage of fuel substitution to make hazardous waste derived fuel economically viable. According to Rosenberg, many facilities are obtaining EPA approval to burn higher percentages of hazardous waste as a result of Part B permit trial burns."

By June of 2001 there will be only 18 commercial BIF facilities in North America. "The decrease in the number of BIFs could help ease the competitive pressures in the industry." Says EI senior analyst Perket "But the reality of the situation that taking more hazardous waste fuel at unattractive pricing levels is not going to be a successful business strategy. The basic challenge facing the entire hazardous waste sector, not just the commercial BIFs, is pricing. The modest prices increases of 5% simply are not enough"

This report appeared in the EI Digest: Hazardous Waste Marketplace, a business research journal issued 10 times per year that covers hazardous waste management issues. The report goes on to characterize the overall business climate for burning waste derived fuel in an industrial furnace and presents individual facility performance as well as pricing, capacity utilization and overall market trends. The report was issued by Environmental Information Limited, a nationally recognized research firm that focuses on the business, technology and regulation of the pollution control industry. For further information on the EI Digest, contact customer Service at 612/831-2473.

###