An Overview of Current Waste Management in the East Midlands

Where are we now?

In order to achieve sustainable waste management in the East Midlands, we must first establish a baseline to understand where we are starting from. In 2003, the RTAB published a technical report which identified the current state of waste management in the region based on available data.This page sets out the key facts, updated where additional information has since become available.

we can now see how waste arisings could develop up until 2020. The technical report allows for the achievement of statutory diversion, recovery and recycling targets and suggested that total controlled waste arisings are likely to increase from 16.4 million tonnes in 2000/1 to 18.4 million tonnes in 2021. If agricultural wastes are included, this total increases from 22 million tonnes to 25 million tonnes overall.

The 2004 waste treatment capacity study and subsequent updates from DEFRA, the ODPM and Environment Agency have allowed further accuracy improvements to this data, including revised, much increased C&D arisings and lower overall industrial waste arisings.

Estimated range for future waste arisings for East Midlands Region, based on maximum and minimum potential growth scenarios (000s tonnes)

Waste Treatment and Disposal in the East Midlands

In 2001, the East Midlands had a total of 60 million cubic metres of void space available in “open gate” landfill sites for wastes including biodegradeable material. Assuming that waste management practice continues in its current format, it is estimated that this capacity will be exhausted in 7.9 years.

Investigations for the report found that this total increased by further 2.3 years when proposed new facilities are taken into consideration.