Microsoft Word - Environmental benefits of recycling 2010 update.doc

4.0 Relevance of the findings in the UK context

4.1 The UK context

4.1.1 Waste management

34.4 million tonnes of municipal waste were generated through the UK in 2007/2008:

 28.5 million tonnes in England (DEFRA, 2008 (a))

 3 million tonnes in Scotland (Scottish Environment Agency, 2009)

 1.8 million tonnes in Wales (Welsh Assembly Government, 2009)

 1.1 million tonnes in Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Environment Agency, 2009)

This corresponds to the generation of 20-25 kg of waste per household per week in UK countries. Figure 43
presents the evolution of municipal waste arisings for England and reveals that municipal waste arisings have
stayed relatively stable since 2001/02. The main route for municipal waste disposal in the UK has traditionally
been landfill. Although less municipal waste is sent to landfills, still 54% of England’s municipal waste (DEFRA,
2008 (a)), 66% of Scotland’s (Scottish Environment Agency, 2009), 65% of Wales’ (Welsh Assembly Government,
2009) and 71% of Northern Ireland’s (Northern Ireland Environment Agency, 2009) still ends up in landfills. The
percentage of municipal waste that is recycled is increasing rapidly. For instance, in England it has increased
from 17.6% in 2003-2004 to 34.5% in 2007-2008 (Environment Agency, 2009). The recycling and composting
rate is rather similar in the other UK countries, i.e. 32% in Scotland (Scottish Environment Agency, 2009), 33% in
Wales (Welsh Assembly Government, 2009) and 29% in Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Environment Agency,
2009) for 2007-2008. The remaining waste is being incinerated. Most UK incinerators only recover electricity (13
out of 19) while cogeneration of electricity and heat is carried out at four incineration plants (DEFRA, 2007 (a)).

Figure 43 Evolution of municipal waste arisings and proportion of waste following the different disposal routes in England (DEFRA, 2008 (c))

4.1.2 Environmental challenges in relation to waste management

Among the 20 UK Sustainable Development Strategy Framework indicators that highlight priority areas, the ones
linked with waste management are:

 Waste

 Greenhouse gas emissions

 Resource use

 Ecological impacts of air pollution

Progress assessment regarding these indicators highlights that significant improvement has been achieved in the
areas of waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, the total amount of waste being landfilled fell by 19.5%
between 2002 and 2007 while emissions of the main six greenhouse gas emissions are about 20% below the
1990 level (DEFRA, 2009 (a)). )). In 2009, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) launched a
Low Carbon Transition Plan in order to be able to reach a 34% cut in emissions on 1990 levels by 2020 (DECC,