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
biodegradable waste. The increase in recycling rates is mainly due to the introduction of kerbside
collection schemes for dry recyclable materials (paper, glass, metal and plastic) and garden waste.
Increasing the recycling rate to the 2020 target of 50% will require large-scale collection of food waste
from households; the England waste strategy promotes this because of both landfill gas reduction and
energy recovery if food waste is treated using anaerobic digestion.
Table 7 shows the arisings and management of MSW in each of the English regions in 2007/08. This
table illustrates the considerable variations in the pattern of waste management as a result of population,
socio economic factors and policy. For example, London has the lowest recycling rate in percentage
terms but has a high tonnage, while the South West has the highest percentage rate but lower tonnage
A total of about 10 million tonnes of MSW arisings in England were either recycled or composted in
2007/08.
Table 7 Management of MSW in English regions in 2007/08
Region MSW Arisings
(‘000 tonnes)
Recycled or
Composted
(Wt %)
Energy
Recovery
(Wt %)
Landfilled
(Wt %)
East Midlands 2,413 40 7 53
East of England 3,034 40 2 58
London 4,154 22 22 56
North East 1,512 29 13 58
North West 4,052 36 2 62
South East 4,563 37 12 51
South West 2,929 41 - 59
West Midlands 2,984 32 30 38
Yorkshire and Humber 2,865 30 10 60
England - Total 28,507 34 11 55
Northern Ireland 1,100 28 - -
Scotland 3,000 32 2 66
Wales 1,800 33 1 65
UK- Total 34,407 127 - -
The amount of waste which is landfilled will reduce due to both further increases in recycling rate and the
increasing capacity for waste treatment which will enable local authorities to meet the 2013 and 2020
targets set by the Landfill Directive (this will also increase the percentage of waste which has energy
recovered from it).
4.1.4 Growth Rates and Future trends
The growth in household waste (and hence MSW) is due to two key factors:
• An increase in the number of households, and
• Growth in waste produced per household due to increased consumption.
Waste minimisation and re-use initiatives 25 aim to tackle the growth in waste produced by a household.
However, even if these initiatives were to reduce the growth in waste per household to zero, then arisings
of household waste would still increase as a result of an increase in the number of households.
25 International Waste Prevention and Reduction Practice: Final Report. Report by Enviros for Defra, October 2004.
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