House of Commons - Environmental Audit

Select Committee on Environmental Audit Fifth Report

FIFTH REPORT

The Environmental Audit Committee has agreed to the following Report:

WASTE—AN AUDIT

INTRODUCTION

1. Every hour of every day, enough waste is produced in the UK to fill the Albert Hall. Annually, England and Wales throw away some 470 million tonnes of waste, equivalent to 560 kg per person, a per capita rate that is 22 per cent higher than the OECD average.[1] This total is made up of waste from several different sources (a glossary defining the terms used to describe various types of waste appears at the end of this Report).

Table 1: Waste production in England and Wales[2]

Waste stream	Production (million tonnes) 1998-99
Industrial waste (excluding construction and demolition waste)	48
Commercial waste	30
Municipal waste	28.2 (2000-01 figure)
Other (including construction and demolition waste, agricultural waste, mining waste, sewage sludge and dredged spoils	c. 364

Sources: Environment Agency Waste Statistics for England and Wales, 1998-99; Municipal Waste Survey 2000-01.

2. The UK's waste mountain, already large, is growing. Since 1996-97, the average annual rise in the amount of municipal waste arisings has been 3.4 per cent[3]. The increase between 1999-00 and 2000-01 was 2.7 per cent, outstripping year on year growth in GDP.[4] No comparable data exists for other elements of the waste stream.

3. An abundance of large holes in the ground, created largely by the activities of extraction industries over hundreds of years, together with the unique nature of the UK's geology, has made landfill the cheapest and most convenient method of disposing of the majority of this waste. As a result 83 per cent of municipal and around 50 per cent of industrial and commercial waste was sent to landfill in 1998-99.[5]

4. There are a number of economic and environmental reasons why this practice is no longer sustainable. In some areas of England and Wales, especially in the North West and near large conurbations, there is little landfill capacity remaining. The Strategic Waste Management Assessments published by the Environment Agency suggest that the maximum life expectancy of remaining landfill capacity ranges from 10.6 years in London down to only five years in the North West.

5. Our current methods of waste disposal cause significant pollution. Landfill sites account for some 25 per cent of UK methane emissions, a greenhouse gas four times more damaging than carbon dioxide. The imperative of reducing our reliance on landfill, driven by the European Landfill Directive, is reinforced by recent trends in greenhouse gas emissions. A recent audit of the Government's Climate Change Programme undertaken by the Sustainable Development Commission concluded that the UK's Kyoto target "of reducing emissions of the basket of greenhouse gases by 12.5 per cent from 1990 levels over the period 2008-12, appears very likely to be achieved" but "without further measures, the UK will fall well short of the domestic goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent from 1990 levels by 2010".[6]

6. Throwing away materials which could be recycled or re-used is often a squandering of valuable resources adding to the differential in resource consumption between the UK and lesser developed countries.

7. These issues do not have to be a threat to UK industry. As the Prime Minister recently stated "it is a myth that reducing emissions makes us poorer".[7] While the UK's resource use has grown by 13 per cent between 1970 and 1999, GDP has grown by 93 per cent. There are opportunities for UK businesses to exploit new markets through the development of innovative waste technologies and services, and for substantial savings in existing operations through more efficient product design and a reduction in the consumption of raw materials.

8. Recycling and re-use of otherwise redundant products and materials is typically more labour intensive than traditional methods of waste disposal. The Community Recycling Network estimate that some 4,000 jobs have been created in the sector over the last decade and are confident that this figure can be increased. Research commissioned by Waste Watch suggests that a further 45,000 jobs would be created in meeting the Government's targets on recycling.[8] Similarly US initiatives have shown that down-stream processing (resulting from recovery and reuse) can create four times as many jobs as are involved in traditional waste management.

9. The recent report on waste from the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit also drew attention to the social benefits which can flow from adopting more sustainable waste management practices. Recycling in particular "can have a positive effect on social cohesion and inclusion, because of the community-based nature of such activities. Good waste management also sends appropriate signals to the public about valuing the local environment and can help to reduce anti-social behaviour such as fly-tipping and littering, and to improve local livability".[9]

10. There is an ever increasing range of European Union legislation, itself largely motivated by a recognition of unsustainable waste practices across Member States and the risks that these present to our environment, directing the ways in which we manage waste. The Landfill Directive, in particular, is a powerful driver of Government waste policy but compliance with a range of other EU initiatives is essential if the UK is to improve significantly the sustainability of its waste management practices and avoid infraction proceedings and penalties.

11. The need for action is accepted by all levels of Government, by waste producers, the waste management industry and by sections of the public as well.[10] Governments have responded through the production of strategies and by setting targets to stimulate a move away from landfill and to deliver higher rates of re-use and recovery. In 1990 the Environment White Paper included an aspirational target to increase waste recycling from 6 per cent to 25 per cent in 2000.[11] In 1995 Making Waste Work re-emphasised the desirability of meeting that target. The Waste Strategy 2000 introduced a range of targets, many of which remain aspirational, but also included the introduction of statutory targets on recycling and composting for local authorities.

12. These measures have not led to a reduction in the amount of waste produced nor to significant changes in the way in which we dispose of it. The recycling target set in 1990 for 2000 was missed. The tonnage of waste, particularly household waste, produced continues to grow. The 2000-01 Municipal Waste Management survey suggests that municipal waste production grew by 2.7 per cent between 1999-00 and 2000-01, an increase of 800,000 tonnes. The tonnage of waste sent to landfill continues to grow.

13. The Government has recognised that insufficient progress has been made. In June 2002, the Rt Hon. Michael Meacher, the Minister for the Environment said "Let me make this absolutely clear, waste is a problem area".[12] More recently, the Rt Hon. Margaret Beckett, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told us the Government was not "completely comfortable with the amount of ground which has been made".[13] In 2000, the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee stated that "one of the most depressing aspects of conducting inquiries into waste matters is that a sense of déjà vu pervades some of the evidence". Sadly, three years on, our experience has been the same.

Our inquiry

Purpose

14. The purpose of our inquiry has been twofold: first, to judge the results of the Government's Waste Strategy against its own targets, and secondly to assess the UK's recent performance on waste management against wider sustainability objectives by testing whether the targets contained in the Waste Strategy are appropriate and sufficiently challenging to deliver sustainable waste management. In doing so, we have sought to provide a diagnosis of the problems facing the UK in terms of waste management.

Conduct

15. We announced our inquiry in August 2002. At that time the Cabinet Office Performance and Innovation Unit (subsequently renamed the Strategy Unit) was engaged in a review of Waste Policy. Subsequently the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee launched a complementary inquiry into the Future of Waste Management designed to assess what steps should be taken in the future to "move waste management up the 'waste hierarchy'",[14] taking into account our analysis and conclusions.[15] The Strategy Unit's report, Waste Not Want Not was published in December 2002 on the same day that the Chancellor of the Exchequer made his 2002 Pre-Budget Statement in the House of Commons, which included reforms to one of the strongest drivers for change in UK waste management—the Landfill Tax.[16] Our programme of oral evidence sessions lasted from December 2002 to February 2003.

16. We are grateful to all those who have assisted us in our inquiry through the provision of oral or written evidence or by more informal means. We would like to thank in particular the Environment Agency, Waste Watch and Green Alliance for their participation in an introductory seminar at the outset of our inquiry and our Specialist Adviser for this inquiry, Ms Leslie Heasman, M J Carter Associates. We are also grateful to the staff of London Remade, London Waste, Cleanaway, Grosvenor, and Day Aggregates for hosting a series of visits to inform our inquiry.

The Waste Strategy 2000

17. The Waste Strategy 2000 was the first national plan for waste management in England and Wales. It set out comprehensive views on the challenges to be overcome and the changes that the Government believed necessary to deliver more sustainable waste management in England and Wales up to 2020 and to meet the standards required under various European Waste Directives. The Strategy is based on two overriding principles—a recognition of the need to deliver a sustainable waste management system which protects both the environment and human health, and secondly an endorsement of the waste hierarchy. The waste strategy also endorses the use of supplementary tools and principles in the development of waste management plans—the precautionary principle,[17] the proximity principle,[18] and the Best Practical Environmental Option (BPEO).[19]

18. The waste hierarchy is based on the principle that waste elimination is the most environmentally desirable solution but recognises that this is not always a practical option, so ways must be found to recover more value from unavoidable waste, thus minimising the amount that is sent for final disposal through the less desirable options such as landfill and incineration. Defined in the EU Framework Directive on Waste, the waste management options are, in descending order of desirability:

— waste prevention and minimisation of waste generation

— re-use of waste

— recycling of waste

— recovery of waste

— use of waste as a source of energy

— incineration without energy recovery

— landfilling[20]

19. The Waste Strategy is almost exclusively focused on municipal waste. The Secretary of State justified this emphasis by explaining that a combination of our existing high rates of landfill for municipal waste and the Landfill Directive requirements to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste being sent to landfill "gives you a natural focus on municipal waste".[21] It is also the case that the Government has more influence over municipal waste management than over other waste streams and considerably more data on municipal waste at hand upon which to develop policy and against which to monitor progress.

20. The Strategy contained a series of quantitative national targets "to ensure that real progress is made".[22] These targets are set out in table 2.

Table 2: Waste strategy national targets for specific waste streams and waste disposal authorities

Targets	By
Industrial and commercial waste
reduction of the amount sent to landfill to 85% of the amount landfilled in 1998	2005
Municipal waste
reduction of the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 75% of that produced in 1995	2010
reduction of the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 50% of that produced in 1995	2013
reduction of the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 35% of that produced in 1995	2020
to recover value from 40% of municipal waste	2005
to recover value from 45% of municipal waste	2010
to recover value from 67% of municipal waste	2020
Household waste (a subset of municipal waste)
to recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste	2005
to recycle or compost at least 30% of household waste	2010
to recycle or compost at least 33% of household waste	2015
Waste disposal authorities
Those with 1998/99 recycling and composting rates of under 5% to achieve at least 10%	2003
Those with 1998/99 recycling and composting rates between 5% and 15% to double their recycling rate	2003
All others to recycle at least one third of household waste	2003

21. The targets for reducing the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill (see table 2) are derived from the Landfill Directive, finally passed by the European Parliament in 1999. To stimulate activity to meet the requirements of the Landfill Directive, the Government set targets for the recovery of value from municipal waste. Recovery of value can include recycling, composting, other forms of material recovery (for instance, anaerobic digestion) and energy recovery. The Government recognised that changing the way in which we manage household waste, which accounts for between 80 and 90 per cent of municipal waste, would be critical to reaching these targets and therefore set national recycling and composting targets for household waste in the Waste Strategy 2000 (see table 2).[23] The Government also undertook to introduce statutory recycling performance standards for each waste collection authority and waste disposal authority in England. The statutory targets take performance in 1998-99 as the baseline and generally equate to a doubling of the recycling rate by 2003 and a tripling by 2005 in each authority.

22. Some of our witnesses questioned whether attaining the recycling and composting targets would be sufficient to meet the recovery requirements of the Landfill Directive. The Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) pointed to research, available since 1999, which indicated that to meet the requirements of Landfill Directive, a 360 per cent increase in recycling would be needed.[24] The Environmental Services Association (ESA) told us that recycling and composting of household waste alone could not deliver the recovery targets. Their analysis is persuasive: if 80 per cent of waste in the household stream is recyclable in a system that is 90 per cent efficient, with 60 per cent of the population participating 80 per cent of the time, slightly over one third of the household waste stream would actually be returned to the productive economy—well short of the 40 per cent target for recovery by 2005.[25] As the option of landfill closes off, and local authorities struggle even to reach their recycling and composting targets, waste will, in the absence of other drivers, flow to the next cheapest, most convenient option—incineration. It is this shortfall that has led some to call the Waste Strategy a charter for incineration.

23. The Waste Strategy also proposed a series of measures to be taken by those involved in waste management. Ten specific 'levers' for change—"measures that will deliver our vision"—outlined how the Government intended to fulfil its own role:

1. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP)

2. A pilot scheme to require public procurement of certain recycled products

3. Tackling waste streams through producer responsibility

4. The Landfill Tax Escalator

5. Tradable permits limiting the amount of waste local authorities in England can send to landfill

6. Use of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme to increase recycling

7. Waste minimisation requirements of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) regime

8. Best Practice Programmes

9. Measures to encourage the recycling of waste oils; and

10. The Are You Doing Your Bit? campaign

Devolution

24. Waste is a devolved matter. The Waste Strategy 2000 was an agreed document between the UK Government and the National Assembly for Wales, covering waste management in England and Wales. In June 2002, the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government produced a specific National Waste Strategy for Wales, Wise About Waste, which replaced Waste Strategy 2000 in Wales.[26] Scotland's National Waste Strategy for Scotland pre-dates the Waste Strategy 2000, having been published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in 1999. Northern Ireland's waste strategy was produced in 2000. Our analysis is limited to the Waste Strategy 2000 and therefore in practice to England although the figures available often refer to England and Wales.