This option (classified by West Berkshire as ‘Option 2’) is to cost £12.9million in total. Although this option is not the cheapest of the five, it is substantially cheaper than options 3,4,5 (ranging between £37-£40million). The operating cost over the 20-year contract period is said to be £3.7million/year, and the cost per household just £63.99/year, which is less than half of the options 3,4, and 5.
The fact that West Berkshire have carefully considered the pricing factors, and conducted a cost-benefit analysis for 5 different options suggests they are considering a sustainable option. By choosing an affordable option they are ensuring that the scheme can successfully continue with the resources we have, i.e. being sustainable.
West Berkshire has made a number of achievements since the 20-year contract was put into place. These include the launch of composting campaign which resulted in over 1758 (2000/01) households purchasing home compost bins at subsidized rates. They launched a waste minimisation campaign in partnership with the other Berkshire districts, and establishing a fortnightly kerbside recycling collection scheme for glass, paper, cans and textiles.
The strategy set out by West Berkshire is very detailed, and considers the short, medium and long-term issues they may face. Some of these include fund raising, waste awareness campaigning, recycling schemes, and the improvement of bring and collection schemes. All of these factors mean that West Berkshire can focus of making their waste management sustainable; they are not just thinking of ways of dealing with the waste, they are thinking of the ways to solve and reduce the waste
The waste management hierarchy classifies waste management strategies according to their desirability in terms of waste minimisation. The waste hierarchy remains the cornerstone of most waste minimisation strategies. The hierarchy shows that the most favoured option is to prevent and minimise the waste being produced, but the least favoured options being to use ‘energy recovery’ and disposal.
It is evident that west Berkshire are taking into consideration the most desirable options as their action plan looks at a number of ways in which they can prevent and minimise waste, these range from waste awareness days to the ‘real nappy campaign’. These plans by west berks are crucial for the sustainability of the waste management scheme.
by
sophie1805 (student)
