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
The Scottish National Waste Plan of 2003 319 establishes the direction of the Scottish Executive’s
policies for sustainable waste management to 2020. It is built around a major commitment of funding
by the Executive to transform Scotland’s record on waste reduction, recycling, composting and
recovery. It sets out challenging, but realistic objectives to achieve fundamental change in the way
that Scotland’s waste is managed, and the main targets are to:
• Achieve zero growth in the amount of municipal waste produced by 2010;
• Achieve 55% recycling and composting of municipal waste by 2020 (35% recycling and
20% composting);
• Recover energy from 14% of municipal waste;
• Reduce landfilling of municipal waste from around 90% to 30%;
• Provide widespread waste minimisation advice to businesses; and
• Develop markets for recycled material to help recycling become viable and reduce costs.
In 2007 Scotland also published a strategy for business 320 (C&I) waste. This aims to reduce the
amount of business waste which is landfilled through both reducing the amount of waste which is
generated and increasing the recycling rate, but it does not set specific recycling targets.
The Northern Ireland waste strategy 321 , which was published in 2006, sets the following targets:
• Recycling and Composting of Household Wastes to increase to 35% by 2010, and to 45%
by 2020.
• 60% of Commercial and Industrial Waste to be recycled by 2020
• 75% of Construction, Demolition and Excavation Wastes to be recycled or reused by
2020.
The national waste strategies all set targets for recycling/composting of MSW, and include
requirements to meet the targets on landfilling of biodegradable MSW set by the landfill Directive. The
targets for C&I waste aim to both reduce the amount of waste which is produced and reduce the
amount which is landfilled, but only the Northern Ireland waste strategy sets a recycling target. Two
strategies (Wales and Northern Ireland) set recycling targets for C&D waste.
English regional strategies
Although some of the English Regions have published waste strategies, others have covered waste
within their spatial strategy/plan. Table 101 lists the waste reduction/minimisation, recovery and
recycling targets set in each Region, and shows that only two regions (London and the South East)
have set recycling targets for all (MSW, C&I and C&D) of the three main waste streams. Table 101
also shows that some regions (such as the East of England) have set recovery targets but have not
set recycling targets, and that only four regions have set waste reduction/minimisation targets.
Other targets/objectives included in the strategies/plans include:
• London - Ensure that facilities with sufficient capacity to manage 75 per cent (15.8 million
tonnes) of waste (MSW and C&I) arising within London are provided by 2010, rising to 80
per cent (19.2 million tonnes) by 2015 and 85 per cent (20.6 million tonnes) by 2020
• East Midlands - To reduce the amount of waste landfilled in accordance with the EU
Landfill Directive, and take a flexible approach to other forms of waste recovery
• East of England - The objective is to eliminate the landfilling of untreated municipal and
commercial waste by 2021
• West Midlands - The Region must play its part in delivering the targets set out in the
National Waste Strategy, and development plans should include proposals which will
enable the Regional targets to be met.
319 Waste Action Scotland: The National Waste Plan. Scottish Executive, 2003
320 Business Waste Framework. Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Executive, March 2007
321 Towards Resource Management: The Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy 2006 – 2020. Northern Ireland Department of
Environment, 2006.