Why Do We Need A Regional Waste Strategy?

The population of the East Midlands currently generates over 25 million tonnes of waste  per year. Some waste streams have grown by as much as 3% or more every year, and all this waste must be managed in some way - whether that is within our region or elsewhere.

Driven by UK and European legislation, Government targets and the increasing need to protect our environment, not to mention the requirements and expectations of the public,waste management in the UK is facing a period of rapid and radical change.

It is no longer possible, practical or appropriate for us to continue to dispose of the majority of the East Midland’s waste by burying it in landfill sites.We must now seek to reduce the amount of waste we produce and to deal with what remains in a sustainable
way. If we fail to change the way we produce and manage waste, the quantity of waste we produce will continue to increase, and the costs and impacts – both economic and
environmental, will also continue to rise. It is now widely accepted that the costs of doing nothing will far exceed the costs of achieving the changes required. It is estimated that the management of municipal wastes already cost the Region in excess of £100 million per year.The management of all wastes are estimated to cost the region several hundred million pounds more.

In seeking to address these issues, it is vital that we consider the implications of the changes in our society and economy which are resulting in increased waste generation – for example through poor efficiency in the production of goods, higher levels of disposable income and increasing consumer demand for short-lived, heavily-packaged disposable products. Actively addressing the negative impacts of these changes will help to maintain the quality of the environment and will make the Region stronger economically – it is thought that adopting more resource efficient practices could save the region’s manufacturing sector alone around £200 million per year.

Many of the required changes will be delivered through national measures. Many will be increasingly visible at the local level – for example through changes to the way we put out our household rubbish each week. However some aspects of the new waste management practices that we will need to employ can best be achieved through co-ordination at a
regional level.

For this reason, the East Midlands Regional Assembly are required to  coordinate the production of a Regional Waste Strategy to provide local authorities, businesses, the waste management industry and householders with a framework to enable us all to change the way we produce and consume goods and manage the resulting waste in the future.

The East Midlands Regional Waste Strategy is not designed to be a technical document, but aims to provide a strategic framework for change. However, the strategy document is supported by detailed data and technical reports which are available on this website
- for reference.