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grey dividing line

Waste - a public responsibility



Private and public sector accept that their waste is their responsibility but public awareness of environmental responsibilities still has a long way to go, says Chris Murphy, Deputy Chief Executive, Chartered Institution of Wastes Management



Had I been asked to write this article two or so years ago I would have opened with a statement that the challenges facing the waste management industry are becoming diverse and onerous. Nothing has happened in the last two years that would make me change that statement except to add that there is a greater appreciation that those same challenges facing the waste management industry also face industry in general within the UK. Industry, both private and public sectors now appreciate that waste is their waste, their problem, their cost, and we must address it as UK plc.

Those challenges include a proliferation of environmental and waste legislation, linked to which is a much more refined and effective regulatory and monitoring regime. Public awareness of environmental responsibilities, opportunities and costs is by and large not at a level that it could and should be and finally the financial impact of all of the above is beginning to impinge on all activities in the public and private sector. Industry are aware that the ‘polluter pays’ principle is one which is enshrined in policy and legislation, and that no longer can we afford to adopt unsustainable practices in the utilisation of resources and the production process.

Landfill directive
The principle piece of environmental legislation which is impacting on UK business is the landfill directive. This directive was intended to introduce a step change in the way we dispose of waste throughout Europe. It will help to drive waste up the hierarchy from disposal to waste minimisation to increase levels of recycling and recovery and to prevent or reduce the negative effects on the environment and to reduce the risk to human health from the landfill of waste. The directive has provisions covering location of landfills and other technical and engineering and requirements, but it is the restrictions on how much, and what kind of waste can be disposed of to landfill that will have the most immediate effect. In order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from landfill the biodegradable municipal waste quantities disposed of in landfill have to be significantly reduced and target dates and percentages have been set.

In order to help the UK meet these targets the waste and Emissions Trading Act has put in place the necessary legal framework to meet the targets. The Act requires that limits be set on the amount of biodegradable municipal waste that local authorities may send to landfill and each will have a set allowance. It will therefore enable each country within the UK to set up a landfill allowance scheme for local authorities. The allowances will be tradable in England between authorities allowing the burden of meeting the landfill directive’s targets to be met in the most cost effective way. This is the first such trading scheme within the EU, many other member states are watching the progress with interest.

It has been estimated by Defra that the landfill directive will result in significant increased costs for landfill site operators increasing significantly thereby driving up prices for producers wishing to landfill such waste. Those estimates identify that the requirements of the directive may add between £2-£40 per tonne to the mean cost of waste disposal with costs ranging up to £120 for specific waste streams.

Waste Implementation Programme
In response to some of the challenges resulting from the landfill directive, the Government set up the Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) in 2003, designed to drive waste management solutions up the waste hierarchy and to improve the sustainability of waste management. WIP set up eight specific programmes to provide technical and advisory support and funding to local authorities to investigate new technologies and their application in the municipal waste sector; to improve the availability and quality of data and research to raise awareness of waste issues amongst the public and elsewhere to support waste minimisation activities and to provide a direct practical focus through support for kerbside collection of recyclables.

All of these programmes are underway, some will be reporting earlier than others, but it is hoped that all, through significant funding from Defra, will have an impact on waste diversion away from landfill and achieving recycling and waste minimisation targets.

The producer pays principle is one enshrined in European legislation no
more so than in the recent regulations for packaging waste to ensure that as much packaging as possible is returned to the chain utility through recycling. Further legislation is being developed in the waste electronic and electrical sectors to ensure that white goods and other electrical appliances and equipment are appropriately removed from the waste stream and dismantled or reused. Producer responsibility legislation may also ultimately address such waste materials as batteries and tyres.

Clean Neighbourhoods Bill
A cleaner, safer environment is the aim of the Clean Neighbourhoods Bill presently being debated and being introduced by the Local Environmental Quality Minister, Alun Michael, in the summer. This sets out the Government's tough new stance to end the blight of litter, fly-tipping, graffiti, fly-posting, abandoned vehicles and other anti-social environmental offences.

The key proposals in the Clean Neighbourhoods Consultation included joined up action between local authorities and the police over issues such as graffiti, fly-posting and litter which will be included under one piece of legislation rather than treated separately as previously. The Act will include fixed penalty notices for environmental offences made at a local level giving more flexibility to local decision makers and crucially retaining the cash to help the local fight against environmental blight.

Setting the Standard
Raising public awareness, understanding and involvement is crucial if we are to achieve the targets for recycling of municipal waste. The UK simply must raise its level of recycling of paper, plastics, metal and the like up to the 25 per cent level achieved by some of our European partners, not only to achieve the targets set under national and international regulations, but also to achieve our aims of sustainable waste management. Many of which are enshrined in local authority policies. Public awareness and involvement however is at its greatest when there is a “threat” of a waste facility or similar facility being sited in a local area. The public are sceptical about the long term environmental and health effects of large scale waste treatment plants. However the UK needs these plants if it is to meet its targets. It is significant that Scandinavian countries for example can combine a high level of recycling with a similarly high percentage of waste-to-energy as a treatment facility for waste materials.

There is no more effective driver towards environmental compliance than the financial one. Landfill tax has been levied on all waste materials taken to landfill for a number of years. Unfortunately the initial charge and annual escalator were both too low to divert significant tonnages of waste away from landfill. The escalator is going to change to £3 in 2005 and a ceiling has been set at £35. At this level it will have a financial and ultimately environmental impact on waste to landfill.

Other financial drivers being considered
include a plastic bag tax such as that introduced in the Republic of Ireland. Direct and variable charging for municipal waste collection. This is not in place in the UK as the charge is part of the council tax, however evidence from throughout Europe indicates that this tax directly levied on tonnage produced by the householder could go a long way to meeting landfill diversion and recycling targets.

Waste Awareness certificate
A survey some time ago by the Environment Agency indicated that the vast majority of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were unaware of their responsibilities under environmental legislation. This indicates that the priority for many SMEs is simply staying afloat, nevertheless ignorance of the law or avoidance of the environmental responsibilities are penalisable. In response to this The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management has set up a Waste Awareness Certificate. This is a broadly based one day training course which introduces representatives from commerce and industry to their responsibilities under environmental legislation and the opportunities both financial and environmental in reducing resource use and complying with regulation.

Chris Murphy is Deputy Chief Executive of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management

www.ciwm.co.uk