State of the Region

IRS Framework Objective 16 - Waste Minimisation and Recycling

To minimise waste and to increase the re-use and recycling of waste materials.

Key Messages

• The amount of household waste composted or recycled in the East Midlands has increased from 8.6% in 1998/99 to 35% in 2006/07, already meeting its target of 30% of household waste composted or recycled by 2010 and is above the England figure of 31%.
• The rates of recycling and composting vary across the region from 22.04% in Nottingham to 42.53% in Leicestershire.
• In 2005/06 an average of 428.72 kg per head of household waste was produced, a decrease from 435.54 kg per head in 2004/05. The East Midlands figure is similar to the England average of 428.9 kg per head.

Commentary

Waste arises from several sources – municipal, commercial/industrial, construction/demolition, special/hazardous and agricultural.  The East Midlands generates around 23.5 million tonnes of waste.  The largest proportion is construction/demolition at just under 10 million tonnes, and commercial/industrial waste at around 6 million tonnes.  Municipal waste, for which the most accurate data is available, accounts for around 10% of controlled waste generated.

Figure 16.1 shows that although the amount of municipal waste in the East Midlands has increased from 415.46 kg per head in 2000/01 to 428.72 kg per head in 2005/06 there was a reduction in waste produced between 2004/05 and 2005/06 of 435.54 and 428.72 kg per head respectively. The variation in the amount of waste produced across the region is shown in figure 16.2.

Figure 16.1 - Amount of municipal waste produced/ kg per head: 2000/01 - 2005/06

Figure 16.2 - Amount of municipal waste produced/ kg per head for counties and unitary authorities: 2005/06 

The Government has set targets for municipal household waste recycling/composting and recovery, requiring all local authorities to recycle 30% of household waste by 2010, although the regional target is 50% by 2015. Information from the Waste Data Flow database and Best Value data show that a substantial increase in recycling has occurred and that 35% of waste collected in the East Midlands is both recycled or composted meeting the 2010 target and exceeding the 2005 target of 25%. The year on year increase, shown in figure 16.3, in the proportion of households waste recycled or composted means that the East Midlands is moving towards the 2015 target of 50%.

Figure 16.3 - Proportion of household waste recycled and composted: 1998/99 - 2006/07 

Figure 16.4 shows that the rates of recycling and composting for the county and unitary areas vary from 22.04% in Nottingham to 42.53% in Leicestershire. However when this is broken down into local authority Districts (figure 16.5), vast variations in the rate can be seen for 2005/06. The lowest rates are for High Peak and Bolsover at 12.3% and13.7 % respectively. The highest rates are for Melton at 47.1%, Rushcliffe at 49.9% and North Kesteven at 51.5%.

Figure 16.4 - Proportion of household waste recycled and composted for counties and unitary authorities: 2006/07 

Figure 16.5 - Proportion of household waste recycled and composted for local authorities: 2005/06 

Indicators: IRS Framework Objective 16 - Waste Minimisation and Recycling

Key to the Table

Comments on Table

(a) East Midlands and national figures are averages of all local authorities, excluding the county councils figures, calculated from BVPI 84 returns.

County and Unitary Indicators

¹Derbyshire figures includes area covered by Peak District National Park

²Lincolnshire data is provisional

³Nottinghamshire have yet to audit their waste data

*2005 data

**The Regional figure for household and municipal waste produced Kg/head is not available for 2006/07

Further sources of evidence

• Regional Waste Strategy, EMRA February 2005

Links to relevant sections in the Integrated Regional Strategy (IRS)

• Waste

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

• Natural Resources

IRS Objective 17>>  

Last updated: 9th May 2008