Why is Waste Data Important?

Keith Bates

Principal Officer Waste and Resources Management

Environment Agency

17th November 2010

What I will cover

Warm up

A bit about us and our Corporate Strategy

Data sources and issues

How do we use the data

Why do we use the data and how can this

benefit everyone

Q & A

How much municipal waste is produced each year in England?

A. 15m tonnes

B 35m tonnes

C 27m tonnes

D 17m tonnes

What is the recycling rate for municipal waste in England?

A 39%

B 22%

C 44%

D 12%

How much household waste is produced in Maidstone each year?

A 95,000 tonnes

B 65,000 tonnes

C 56,000 tonnes

D 35,000 tonnes

Which is the largest waste producing sector ?

A Construction & Demolition

B Households

C Commercial and industrial

D Mining and Quarrying

How long does it take a carrier bag take to disintegrate in landfill?

A 100 years

B 200 years

C 400 years

D 500 years

Our Vision for Waste

Our vision is that waste will be reduced and have the smallest possible impact on health and the environment

Our corporate strategy

Businesses and other organisations know what the most sustainable options are for managing waste and using resources wisely

The right waste and resource management infrastructure is in place

Businesses and other organisations are resource efficient, minimise pollution and manage their waste responsibly

Some sources of waste data

Returns from permitted waste disposal treatment sites (RATS/GOR)

Hazardous waste returns

WasteDataFlow –local authority waste

Regulated industry returns

Commercial and industrial waste surveys

Producer responsibility returns

Transfer notes (electronic)

Issues with waste data

Waste tonnage returns do not give us a figure for total waste arising

We do not get waste returns from many waste facilities registered as “exempt”

Much of the data is complex to interpret and double counting needs to be avoided

Commercial and industrial waste surveys

SWMP’s-data isn't directly reported

Landfill v treatment

Waste Landfilled or Reprocessed/Recycled. Recorded at Environment Agency Licensed Facilities. Source:

Environment Agency

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

2005 2006 2007 2008Year

000 t

on

nes

Landfill Treatment/RecycledCaveat. Some waste has been allocated to London by the Environment Agency where

facilities are known to take London's waste.

Priority Waste Stream : Wood (London)

Estimated arising 867,000 tonnes

Estimated landfill 505,000 tonnes

EA landfill returns 2,530 tonnes

EA treatment returns 36,400 tonnes

Unsegregated Waste/Mixed Waste

Valuable resources (e.g. paper,

wood, metals) are being

landfilled as unsegregated

waste.

Large amounts of greenhouse gas are being unnecessarily produced.

5 million tonnes (50%) of the waste landfilled within Thames Region is classed as unsegregated.

Proportion of Mixed Waste to Other

Waste Originating in Thames Region

50%50%

Mixed Waste 5.2 Mt Other 5.3 Mt

Recycling, Carbon Emissions and Money

Amount Recyclable

147,000

39,000

27,000

41,000

195,000

39,000

111,000

221,000 295,000

559,000

Paper and card

Kitchen/food w aste

Garden/plant w aste

Other organic

Textiles

Plastic (dense)

Plastic (f ilm)

Ferrous metal

Non-ferrous metal

Glass

Of the 4 million tonnes sent direct to landfill potentially 1.7 million tonnes could be recycled.

This would save 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 and be worth £168 million.

Flow of Mixed Ordinary Waste

C&I Waste

1.9 MT

land-filled outside London

0.5 MT

land-filled in London

Recycling Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Eliminate

Recycle

£90£0£90 £258£90

What can you do to help with data

Always describe your waste accurately

Use the correct EWC (List of wastes code) code

Describe the method of treatment

Provide accurate weights

Submit your data on time

Tell us the amount of waste that you have treated such that is no longer waste

State origin and destination details

THANK YOU

QUESTIONS

Because you pay for them!

Why do waste companies have nice new shiny vehicles?