Waste Management in the Future

We all need to reduce the amount of waste that we generate, because we are running out of landfill sites where most of our waste is taken to be buried in the ground. Disposing of recyclable materials in a landfill site is a waste of valuable resources.

The UK has historically been heavily reliant on landfill.  In 2000/01 a total of 28.2 million tonnes of municipal waste was produced and 79% - about 23 million tonnes - was landfilled. Just 12% was recycled or composted and 8% was incinerated with energy recovery.

The proportion of household waste sent for recycling, composting or reuse in 2009/10 in England was 39.7 per cent, increasing from 37.6 per cent in 2008/09.

The generation of household waste has continued to decrease and between 2008/09 to 2009/10, there was a 2.7 per cent reduction to 23.7 million tonnes in 2009/10. Household waste generation has been decreasing annually since 2006/07.

As a consequence of less household waste being generated, the tonnage of local authority collected waste being sent to landfill is also decreasing.

The Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC), which was adopted by the European Union in 1999, has been the driving force to drastically change the way the UK handles waste. The Directive was brought into force in the UK on June 15 2002 as the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002. The purpose of the Directive was to change the way that we dispose of waste in Europe. The Directive aims to reduce the amount of waste disposed of to landfill as well as the potential for landfill to pollute surface water, groundwater, soil, air, and also contribute to climate change.

Because the UK is so dependent on landfill, it has been allowed an extra four years to meet the compulsory European Landfill Directive Targets to reduce biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) sent to landfill.

European Landfill Directive Targets

• Reduce BMW landfilled to 75% of 1995 level by 2010
• Reduce BMW landfilled to 50% of 1995 level by 2013
• Reduce BMW landfilled to 35% of 1995 level by 2020

The UK met its 2010 Landfill Directive target however it will have to work hard to met the extremely pressing targets for 2013 and 2020.

Reuse, Recycling and Composting in Amber Valley

The most recent reuse/ recycling and composting rates achieved in Amber Valley are listed in Table 1. Please also see Graph 1 and Graph 2 showing a graphical representation of recycling rates and kg of waste produced per head.

Table 1

We would like to say thank you to all the residents that support the recycling schemes provided and encourage you to continue to do so in the future, in order that we can achieve our Landfill Directive Targets