3 Facilitating the development of
new waste processing infrastructure
13. An emphasis on recycling alone is unlikely to
be sufficient to enable the United Kingdom to comply with the
European Union's Landfill Directive. The Department's modelling
indicated that new infrastructure capable of processing up to
15 million tonnes of waste each year may be necessary and that
the cost of waste disposal will consequently have to increase
from £2 billion in 2003-04 to £3.4 billion in 2009-10.
Such infrastructure could include burning, anaerobic digestion,
or composting waste to generate electricity, or using mechanical
and biological treatment plants to recycle some materials and
to compost organic materials. The Department's evidence from Europe
suggests that the development of such infrastructure does not
discourage household recycling.[14]
14. A significant minority of people (43%) recognised
the need to build more facilities in their local area to provide
an alternative to landfill. The development of waste infrastructure
has tended to be unpopular with the public, however, and the United
Kingdom, Italy and Spain are characterised by large scale protests
and mobilisation of public opinion against new facilities. In
2004, the Department commissioned research to bring together the
literature and evidence on the relative health and environmental
effects of all the different waste management options. The Department
found no evidence to suggest that properly managed and regulated
energy-from-waste plants were likely to have an effect on human
health. The Department's evidence suggested that the issues of
public concern centred on the smell and appearance of the facility,
and the volume of traffic to and from the site.[15]
15. The Department estimates that it takes around
nine years for an energy-from-waste plant to progress from an
identified need to becoming operational. By summer 2006 there
was a significant risk that many of the waste treatment plants
being proposed by waste disposal authorities would not be operational
in time to comply with the European Union's Landfill Directive.
The best performing local authorities have tended to work effectively
with their local communities to respond to such concerns and the
Department anticipates that the revision of the planning guidance
in recent years (in conjunction with the Department for Communities
and Local Government) will set out a much better framework for
public consultation.[16]
16. Local authorities have stated that they would
welcome more specific detailed advice on their approach to waste
management. Encouraging and supporting waste disposal authorities
to develop and introduce appropriate waste infrastructure necessitates
the Department working closely with them to determine local circumstances
and requirements. The anaerobic digestion plant in Shropshire,
for example, is effective in processing biodegradable municipal
waste into compost and generating electricity, but depends upon
the adequate separation of biodegradable waste beforehand. The
National Audit Office established that the Department has few
staff available for liaising with local authorities, so more specific
and tailored advice from the Department would require some prioritisation.
Only six out of the 25 largest waste disposal authorities confirmed
in 2006 that they expected to achieve their 2010 targets. The
Department has encouraged local authorities to collaborate, although
an Office of Government Commerce survey in 2005 found that local
authorities had done so for only 15% of waste contracts.[17]
14 C&AG's Report, para 3.1-3.3; Qq 21, 75-76 Back
15
C&AG's Report, paras 3.6-3.9; Qq 97-98 Back
16
C&AG's Report, paras 3.3-3.5; Qq 21-22, 74, 97-98 Back
17
C&AG's Report, paras 3.13-3.14; Qq 54-57, 66, 76-77 Back
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