Interlinkages

Addressing the region’s agreed priorities to use natural resources more efficiently, create sustainable and healthy communities, and improve economic performance and competitiveness will all contribute towards achieving the objective to minimise waste and to increase the reuse and recycling of waste materials.

Waste affects the efficiency and competitiveness of our economy – waste minimisation can reduce costs for businesses, for example. Waste also has significant impacts upon the natural environment and human health, for example as a consequence of its disposal by landfill or incineration. Waste incineration can, however, generate heat and power which can help to reduce the use of non renewable resources for energy.

National Policy Context

The Government published Waste Strategy for England in 2007 in order to build on progress with respect to the National Waste Strategy 2000.

Since the waste strategy in 2000, England has made significant progress. Recycling and composting of waste has nearly quadrupled since 1996-97, achieving 27% in 2005-06. The recycling of packaging waste has increased from 27% to 56% since 1998. Less waste is being land filled, with a 9% fall between 2000-1 and 2004-05. Waste growth is also being reduced with municipal waste growing less quickly than the economy at 0.5% per year.

This progress has been driven by significant changes in policy. The landfill tax escalator and the introduction of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) have created sharp incentives to divert waste from landfill. Additional funding for local authorities, including through the private finance initiative, has led to a major increase in kerbside recycling facilities and new waste treatment facilities.. New delivery arrangements have helped to drive the strategy, including the Waste Implementation Programme (WIP), the Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) and the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Programme.

 
Waste Strategy for England 2007 key objectives and targets include:

• Decoupling waste growth  (in all sectors) from economic growth and putting  more emphasis on waste prevention and re-use;
• Meetng and exceeding the Landfill Directive diversion targets for biodegradable municipal waste in 2010, 2013 and 2020
• Increasing diversion from landfill of non-municipal waste and securing better integration of treatment for municipal and non-municipal waste;
• Securing the investment in infrastructure needed to divert waste from landfill and for the management of hazardous waste; and
• Getting the most environmental benefit from that investment, through increased recycling of resources and recovery of energy from residual waste using a mix of technologies.

The overall impact of the strategy is expected to be an annual net reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions from waste management of at least 9.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year compared to 2006 (equivalent to annual use of around 3 million cars). The additional greenhouse gas emissions reductions result from an increase in diversion of waste from landfill of around 25 million tonnes of waste per annum. These benefits will be further boosted by significant extra greenhouse gas benefits from the waste prevention measures in the strategy.

A greater focus on waste prevention will be recognised through a new target to reduce the amount of household waste not re-used, recycled or composted from over 22.2 million tonnes in 2000 by 29% to 15.8 million tonnes in 2010 with an aspiration to reduce it to 12.2 million tonnes in 2020 – a reduction of 45%. This is equivalent to a fall for 50% per person (from 450 kg per person in 2000 to 225 kg in 2020).

Higher national targets than in 2000 have been set for:

• Recycling and composting of household waste – at least 40% by 2010, 45% by 2015 and 50% by 2020; and
• Recovery of municipal waste - 53% by 2010, 67% by 2015 and 75% by 2020.

Key proposals for action - the main elements of the new strategy are to:

• Incentivise efforts to reduce, re-use, recycle waste and recover energy from waste;
• Reform regulation to drive the reduction of waste and diversion from landfill while reducing costs to compliant businesses and the regulator;
• Target action on materials, products and sectors with the greatest scope for improving environmental and economic outcomes;
• Stimulate investment in collection, recycling and recovery infrastructure, and markets for recovered materials that will maximise the value of materials and energy recovered; and
• Improve national, regional and local governance, with a clearer performance and institutional framework to deliver better coordinated action and services on the ground.

Key Challenges in the East Midlands

The East Midlands Region currently produces over 23 million tonnes of waste. In 2002/3 34% was commercial/industrial in origin; 53% was construction and demolition material; and 13% was municipal waste. In addition, the region produces approximately 5 million tonnes of agricultural wastes.

6.7 million tonnes of waste went to landfill and almost 4.7 million tonnes of waste went to transfer and treatment facilities in 2005.

Waste disposed to landfill increased by 5% between 2004/05 and 2005 whilst inputs to transfer and treatment facilities increased by 11% and 2% respectively.

In the long term, between 2000/01 and 2005, inputs to landfill decreased by 27% whilst transfer inputs increased by 59% and treatment by 78%.

It is estimated that the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of municipal wastes currently costs the Region in excess of £400 million per annum. Without intervention, by 2021 it is feared that waste risings in the region could escalate to over 30 million tonnes.

The region currently has the capacity to treat around 12 million tonnes of waste per annum, in addition to a landfilling capacity of around 5.5 million tonnes per annum. However, at current rates of filling, landfill capacity within the region will be exhausted within 8 to 10 years.
 
Local authorities within the region are making steady progress to recover or recycle more of the municipal waste streams.  The Household recycling/composting rate (2006/07) in the East Midlands (35.6%) is higher than the National average for England which stands at 30.8%.

The region needs to provide a robust and policy framework to promote waste prevention and sustainable consumption/production practices, supported by the rapid development of the required physical infrastructure. This will ensure that the maximum value is recovered from the waste that does arise, various legislative targets are met, and the environment and human health are safeguarded.

Current Position on Regional Policy

 A Regional Waste Strategy for the East Midlands was published early in 2006. The priorities within the strategy are part of on-going implementation work and have formed an integral part of the recent review of the Regional Spatial Strategy. The implementation phase involves working closely with partners to ensure delivery. Initiatives that partner organisations are currently involved in will help to inform the delivery of the Regional Spatial Strategy, notably the work that emda is involved in through its BREW programme.

The Regional Waste Strategy for the East Midlands is based on the following principles:

• working towards zero growth in waste at the regional level by 2016; 
• reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill in accordance with the EU Landfill Directive;
• exceeding Government targets for recycling and composting, with the objective to bring all parts of the region up to the levels of current best practice;
• taking a flexible approach to other forms of waste recovery, on the basis that technology in this area is developing very quickly and is difficult to predict over a 20 year period. 

The Identified priorities for waste management within the Region are also set out in RSS 8 as follows: “Local Authorities, national, regional and local bodies should promote a package of policies and proposals that will result in zero growth in all forms of controlled waste by 2016.

All Waste Collection Authorities should achieve a minimum target of 50% for the recycling and composting of Municipal Solid Waste by 2015.

Waste Local Plans should include policies and proposals to promote sustainable waste management by the development of the additional waste management capacity, taking into consideration:

• the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) for each waste stream;
• socio-economic implications;
• the principle of regional self-sufficiency;
• the proximity principle: and
• the waste hierarchy.”

The Regional Waste Strategy supports these principles with further detailed policies; an action plan, monitoring and implementation programme that will aim to ensure that sustainable waste management is delivered within the Region. These policies will address 10 identified key priority areas:

1. Planning and infrastructure development for waste management
2. Education, behavioural change and promotion of best practice
3. Improving the efficiency of our resource use and reducing commercial and industrial wastes
4. Prevention and improving management of hazardous wastes
5. Prevention and improved management of Municipal Solid Wastes
6. Procurement and market development
7. Reduction and management of construction and demolition waste
8. Managing the impacts of Regional and sub-Regional growth
9. Addressing agricultural and rural waste management
10. Addressing Fly-Tipping

Additional guidance for the preparation of Local Development Frameworks and Waste Development Frameworks is also provided.
 

Links to the relevant sections of the State of the Region Report for 2008

• Waste Minimisation and Recycling

Links to the relevant sections of the East Midlands Integrated Toolkit (EMIT)

• Natural Resources
• Lifestyles

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