Landfill trends

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Achieving recycling targets in the UK - practical
examples from East West Sussex Ryan
Woodard Waste Energy Research Group School of
the Environment University of Brighton
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30 million tonnes municipal solid waste
9 recycled
82 landfilled
9 Energy from Waste plants
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Municipal waste All waste collected by or on
behalf of the local authority, and includes all
household waste, street litter, waste delivered
to council recycling points, municipal parks and
garden wastes, council office waste, civic
amenity waste and some commercial waste from
shops and smaller trading estates where local
authority waste collection agreements in place
DETR 1999
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• Legislation
• Environmental and social impacts
• Making Waste Work (1995) - set 25 recycling
  target by 2000
• Landfill Tax (1996) - 7/tonne tax (11/tonne)
• Landfill Directive (1999) - reduce biodegradable
  municipal waste entering landfill to 75 of 1995
  levels by 2010
• Waste Strategy 2000 - extended 25 recycling
  target until 2005 and recover value from 40
• Individual local authorities have been set
  statutory recycling targets based upon
  performance in 1998/99

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• Recycling rate
• Included
• waste collection rounds
• street cleansing and litter collection
• bulky waste collections
• hazardous household waste collections
• household clinical waste collections
• garden waste collections
• drop-off/bring systems
• Excluded
• incinerator residues
• beach cleansing wastes
• rubble
• home composted waste
• clearance of fly-tipped wastes
• abandoned vehicles
• re-used waste material

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How will targets be met ?
Brighton Hove City Council
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• Wealden District Council
• 142,000 population
• 61,114 households
• Predominantly rural
• 1994 Published recycling plan - decision taken
  to implement an intensive bring bank system and
  MRF
• 1995 - recycling rate 4.5. Therefore kerbside
  collection started for paper, cans foil.
  Introduced to 22,000 households
• Recycling rate - 7.5
• 2003/04 target 16

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• Reviewed strategy - wanted
• A more integrated service
• Greater waste awareness
• Community ownership of waste
• System to integrate green waste collection
• Devised the CROWN system - Compost Recycle Our
  Waste Now

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• CROWN

Week 2 Compostable materials With Cans Plastic
Week 1 Residual waste With News Pams
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• Methodology
• Assess the apparent impact of scheme
• Analysed waste generated from a sample of
  households before and after the scheme
  implemented
• Materials sorted into 11 main material types and
  into 32 sub groups
• Waste from individual households sorted
  separately

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• Pre CROWN 18.1 Kg/household/week
• Post CROWN 8.3 Kg/household/week
• 9.8 Kg/household/week reduction
• Biggest reduction putrescible waste
• Results have been replicated throughout the
  district where the scheme is in place - 48
  recycling rate in these areas
• Scheme expanded to 5,000 households every 6
  months until 36,000 households on scheme
• Scheme has been awarded national awards

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• Crawley Borough Council
• 97,100 population
• 39,686 households
• In close proximity to London and Gatwick Airport
  - high commuting population
• Council has been collecting recyclable materials
  using bring banks since early 1980s
• 1998/99 13 recycling rate using bring bank
  facilities
• Statutory target of 20 by 2003/04

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• Waste analysis showed cardboard and paper
  represented 30 of waste stream
• Therefore CHEERS Scheme trialled collecting
  paper and cardboard from 8,000 every fortnight
• Used a polypropylene woven bag - beneficial to
  trial a new system

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• Methodology
• To assess how well the scheme was working
• Record set out rate and participation rate
• 2,500 households monitored over eight-week
  period

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• 60 of households placed paper and cardboard out
  at least once
• Logistical problems - front door collection
• Lack of promotion
• Bag - problems blowing away, aesthetically not
  nice
• Public cheated by bag
• Scheme being re-launched using recycling box
• 200,000 grant from government (310,000)

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• Brighton Hove City
• 258,000 population
• 115,000 households
• 10 recycling rate 2001
• 20 statutory target 2003/04
• Magpie recycling subscriber recycling system -
  5,000 households
• Council launched paper recycling scheme in 2001
• Council responsible for Household Waste
  Recycling Centres

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• Methodology
• In 2000/01 19 of material entering these two
  sites was recycled - aim to see what else could
  be captured
• 4.5 tonne sample taken from both sites
• Materials separated into 20 categories and into
  59 sub groups

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• Most prominent materials in waste stream -
  timber and fines - together represent 40
• Textiles, rubble, paper, and brown goods
  deposited in significant quantities
• Recycling levels at sites currently 19 - scope
  to recycle 33 using existing facilities
• Are we looking at the right materials ?

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• Conclusions
• Local authorities are working hard to meet the
  tough statutory targets
• Lack of autonomy - charge schemes, deposit
  schemes, etc
• Lack of a national waste education programme
• Planning
• No legal requirement for Waste Collection
  Authorities and Waste Disposal Authorities to
  work with each other
• Lack of infrastructure - Waste disposal contract
  
• Where do the materials go ?

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Acknowledgements This research has been funded by
Viridor Waste Management Ltd through the landfill
tax credit scheme, through the Brighton
Environmental Body
Thank you for your attention and have a safe
journey home.