Waste not want not - States Assembly

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options open and reduces future risks of
inflexibility in the face of changing
legislation, technology, or other factors;
it increases reduction, re-use and recycling
and thus moves England up the waste
hierarchy;
it reduces the level of incineration and the
number of costly waste facilities required;
and
once landfill taxes rise, it should lever in
significant private sector funding and
investment.
...but also some risks and tough choices
5.21 The main risk is that:
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reducing the waste growth rate by 1% is
challenging and ambitious.
5.22 The tough choices are:
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what we are prepared to pay and prepared
to do;
changing the behaviour of households will
not be easy. Many say they want to recycle
and want a convenient doorstep collection,
but only some are willing to pay for these
new and better services. Many feel they pay
too much already but overestimate what they
pay by 4-5 times the actual amount;
recycling will be an expensive option until
markets for recycled goods are further
developed creating economies of scale; and
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planning and other delays may make it
difficult to get the collection infrastructure
and the required number of waste
management facilities in place. Most
householders say they do not want landfill or
incinerators (even though in reality 80% of
the UK public live within 2km of a landfill,
open or closed). People say they do not want
landfill but are concerned about the risks
from incineration (even though the
perception of the risk is massively higher than
the reality – about the same likelihood as the
risk of death from a lightning strike); 71
5.23 Whilst the Government has a role in
creating the right economic conditions,
outlining national aspirations and providing
funding for local authorities for a more
sustainable strategy, the reality is that many of
the choices will ultimately fall to local authorities
and households. Waste is not always a high
priority compared to many other areas of local
government e.g. education and social services.
5.24 In short everyone seems to want a better
environment and appear willing to recycle more
but few want to pay the additional cost for a
better service.
5.25 If we are to shift waste management onto
a more sustainable footing – and the benefits of
doing this are clear – then there needs to be
additional funding, more choices for local
authorities, a better informed public who are
more involved in local strategies, and a
willingness to make relatively small changes
in lifestyle.
The recommended strategy
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
5.26 The recommended strategy has three
strands as set out in Box 10.
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Enviros Aspinwall, SU working paper The Context for Emissions and Health Impact Associated with Waste Management, (2002)
www.strategy.gov.uk/2002/waste/downloads/enviros.pdf
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