to read the full report - Ecolateral by Peter Jones

Evaluation of Opportunities for Converting Indigenous UK Wastes to Wastes and Energy
AEA/ED45551/Issue 1
and increasing resource efficiency) set out in the national waste strategy, but this would (due to the
need to construct the required treatment capacity) be a long term (at least 2020) target.
National waste strategies
An updated waste strategy for England 317 was published in May 2007. The aim of this updated Waste
Strategy, which sets the Government’s vision for sustainable waste management, is to reduce waste
by making products with fewer natural resources, and thus breaking the link between economic growth
and waste growth. Products should be re-used, their materials recycled, energy from waste
recovered, and landfilling of residual waste should occur only where necessary. The key points are:
• Waste minimisation - A strong emphasis on waste prevention with householders reducing their
waste (for example, through home composting and reducing food waste), business helping
consumers, for example, with less packaging, development of a service which will enable
households to opt-out of receiving un-addressed as well as addressed direct mail, and a
reduction in the use of free single-use plastic bags.
• Recycling - More effective incentives for individuals and businesses to recycle waste, leading
to at least 40 per cent of household waste recycled or composted by 2010, rising to 45% by
2015 and 50 per cent by 2020. This is a significant increase on the targets (30% by 2010 and
33% by 2015) in the previous waste strategy (which was published in 2000).
• Treatment of residual waste - Increasing the amount of energy produced by a variety of
energy from waste schemes, using waste that can't be reused or recycled. It is expected that
from 2020 a quarter of municipal waste - waste collected by local authorities, mainly from
households - will produce energy, compared to 10 per cent today.
The English waste strategy also included a new national target for the reduction of commercial and
industrial waste going to landfill. This will require the level of commercial and industrial waste that is
landfilled to fall by 20% by 2010 compared to the baseline of 2004.
The Welsh Waste Strategy 318 , which was published in 2003, established a challenging but realistic
programme of change by 2013. The aim of the strategy is to move Wales from an over-reliance on
landfill to a position where it will be a model for sustainable waste management. This will be achieved
by adopting and implementing a sustainable, integrated approach to waste production, management
and regulation (including litter and flytipping) that minimises the production of waste and its impact on
the environment, maximises the use of unavoidable waste as a resource, and minimises where
practicable, the use of energy from waste and landfill.
The Welsh strategy set the following targets:
• Municipal solid waste
o Each local authority to achieve a minimum 40% recycling/composting rate by 2009/10,
with a minimum of 15% composting (with only compost derived from source
segregated materials counting) and 15% recycling.
o Waste arisings per household should be no greater than those (for Wales) in 1997/98
by 2009/10.
o By 2020, waste arisings per person should be less than 300kg per annum.
• Commercial and industrial waste
o Achieve, by 2010, a reduction in waste produced equivalent to at least 10% of the
1998 arisings figure.
o Reduce, by 2010, the amount of industrial and commercial waste going to landfill to
less than 80% of that landfilled in 1998
• C&D
o To re-use or recycle at least 85% of C&D waste produced by 2010.
317
Waste Strategy for England 2007. Defra, May 2007.
318
Wise About Waste: The National Waste Strategy For Wales. Welsh Assembly Government, 2003.
186 AEA