2 Waste Strategy objectives
5. The Waste Strategy sets out a wide range of
objectives (see figure 1) to:
- reduce net carbon dioxide emissions
by 9.3 million tonnes per year;[10]
- decouple waste growth (in all sectors) from economic
growth and put more emphasis on waste prevention and re-use;
- meet and exceed targets to reduce the amount
of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW)[11]
sent to landfill in 2010, 2013 and 2020 under the Landfill Directive
1999;[12]
- increase diversion from landfill of non-municipal
waste, and secure better integration of treatment for municipal
and non-municipal waste;
- secure the investment in infrastructure needed
to divert waste from landfill, and for the management of hazardous
waste, and
- get the most environmental benefit from that
investment, through increased recycling of resources and recovery
of energy from residual waste using a mix of technologies.
6. However, some statements of objectives are
ill-defined, for example the policy listed in the bottom box of
figure 1. This states that "if incentives are insufficient
regulate both upstream (materials) and downstream (landfill)"
but it does not specify the circumstances under which incentives
would be considered to be insufficient.
7. To achieve its objectives the Waste Strategy
includes an action plan which aims to:
- encourage efforts to reduce,
re-use or recycle waste and to recover energy from waste;
- reform regulation to drive waste reduction and
landfill diversion while reducing costs;
- 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,
and
- improve national, regional and local governance
to deliver co-ordinated action and services on the ground.
Figure
1: Waste Strategy 2007: objectives, policies, indicators and targets
Source: Defra, The Waste Strategy for England
2007, Cm 7086, May 2007, p 18.
8. Underpinning the Waste Strategy is the waste
hierarchy (see figure 2), which states that the "most effective
environmental solution is often to reduce the generation of waste—prevention".
The next most desirable approach is re-use (where products and
materials can be used again, for the same or different purposes),
then recovery of resources through recycling or composting, followed
by energy recovery and then "only if none of the above offer
an appropriate solution should waste be disposed of".[13]
The waste hierarchy is now enshrined in EU law.[14]
Our discussion below on the implementation of the Waste Strategy
follows the structure of this hierarchy.
Figure
2: The waste hierarchy
Source: Defra, The Waste Strategy for England
2007, Cm 7086, May 2007, p 9.
10 Reductions against a base year of 2006. This is
equivalent to the annual usage of about 3 million cars. Back
11
Article 2 of the EU Landfill Directive defines municipal waste
as comprising waste from households and other waste that, because
of its nature or composition, is similar to waste from households.
It defines biodegradable waste as "any waste that is capable
of undergoing anaerobic or aerobic decomposition, such as food
and garden waste and paper and cardboard". Back
12
The EU Landfill Directive sets targets requiring reduction in
landfilled biodegradable municipal waste to 75% of that produced
in 1995 by 2010, to 50% by 2013 and 35% by 2020. The Waste and
Emissions Trading Act 2003 provides the UK legislative framework
to achieve these targets and requires limits to be set on the
amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill. This
led to the setting up of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme
(LATS) enabling councils to trade allowances with the aim of meeting
the Directive's targets in the most cost effective way. Back
13
Defra, Waste Strategy for England 2007, Cm 7086, May 2007,
p 28. Back
14
The EU Waste Framework Directive was revised in November 2008
to enshrine the "waste hierarchy" in EU law. Back
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