Waste Management Practices in the United Kingdom
Town and Country planning aspects of waste management
GGY 259H
Geography and Planning
Waste Management Practices in the United Kingdom
Abstract
Complete removal of waste is a task that will probably never be possible. Therefore there should be a balance between the amount of waste that is produced and the amount reused. There have been many suggestions as to how this should be done over the recent decades. Recently the suggestion has been the development of sustainable waste management.
Aims and Objectives
'Waste is undesirable, but nevertheless an inevitable and inherent product of our social, economic, and cultural life.' (Kharbanda and Stallworthy, Waste Management, 1990)
This report aims to achieve several clear objectives. The basis of the report is to outline waste management practices, particularly on a regional and national scale. This will go on to a general overview that is intended to show possible future changes in waste production and management. To find these things out the following questions will need to be answered:
. What waste do we manage?
2. Why do we manage it?
3. How do we manage the waste?
Looking at the first question, waste will have to be defined, and the amount that we produce as a nation will be looked at. The second question will be divided into environmental protection, and human risks. The third question carries the most information in the report, it shall identify national and more importantly, European legislation, local and national management strategies. The conclusion will address the issue and the future of waste management.
Table 1
List of Waste types, from Article 1(a) of Council Directive 75/442/EEC, from a commission decision of 20th December 1993
Waste resulting from exploration, mining, dressing and further treatment of minerals and quarrying.
2
Waste form agriculture, horticulture, hunting, fishing, and aquaculture primary production, food preparation and processing.
3
Wastes from wood processing and the production of paper, cardboard, pulp, panels and furniture.
4
Wastes from leather and textile industries.
5
Wastes from petroleum refining, natural gas purification and pyrolytic treatment of coal.
6
Wastes from inorganic chemical processes.
7
Wastes from organic chemical processes.
8
Wastes from the manufacturing, formulation, supply and use of the coatings (paints, varnishes and enamels), adhesives, sealents and printing inks.
9
Wastes from photographic industries
0
Inorganic wastes from thermal processes.
1
Inorganic wastes with metals from metal treatment and coating of metals; non-ferrous hydrmetallurgy
2
Wastes from shaping and surface treatment on metals and plastics.
3
Oils wastes
4
Wastes from organic substances employed as solvents
5
Packaging; absorbents, wiping cloths, filter materials and protective clothing.
6
Wastes not otherwise specified in the catalogue.
7
Construction and demolition wastes.
8
Wastes from all human or animal health care / related research.
9
Wastes from treatment facilities, off-site waste water treatment plants and the water industry.
20
Municipal wastes and similar commercial, industrial and institutional wastes, including collected functions.
What kind of waste do we manage?
Definition
Waste is the lack of use/value of 'useless remains'.
It is a by-product of human activity. The European courts define waste, in the eyes of ...
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6
Wastes not otherwise specified in the catalogue.
7
Construction and demolition wastes.
8
Wastes from all human or animal health care / related research.
9
Wastes from treatment facilities, off-site waste water treatment plants and the water industry.
20
Municipal wastes and similar commercial, industrial and institutional wastes, including collected functions.
What kind of waste do we manage?
Definition
Waste is the lack of use/value of 'useless remains'.
It is a by-product of human activity. The European courts define waste, in the eyes of the people who produce/discard it as the following:
* Material that can be defined as waste
* Scrap material
* Effluent or other surplus material/substance.
* Material that requires to be disposed of as broken, worn out, contaminated, or otherwise spoiled.
* It has been discarded and dealt with as if it were waste.
The European Commission have defined waste in the directive (Table 1) 75/442/EEC. There is a more complex definition which states,' Waste is any substance or object which the holder disposes of or is required to dispose of pursuant to the provisions of national law in force.' This was redefined, 'Any substance in the categories set out in Annex 1 of the directive which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.' The Commission drew up a list of divided wastes into the sixteen categories of Annex 1. It was issued on 20th December 1993 and is known as the European Waste Catalogue, which applies to all waste.
Waste Production in Britain
The production of waste, whether it is household, agricultural, commercial and industrial is inevitable. It simply reflects the nature of society, in which modern day rubbish is impossible to escape from. Every year the countries of the modern world produce over 5billion tonnes of municipal and industrial solid waste. (OECD, 1993).
The UK produces over 400 million tonnes of waste each year, (Cullingworth & Nadin, 1997). Most of this is agricultural, mining and quarrying waste. 'Much of the remainder is 'controlled waste', i.e., waste which is controlled by the provisions of Environmental Protection Act'. (Cullingworth & Nadin, 1997). Devon produces about 1 tonne per household, every year. This constitutes to a total of 460 000 tonnes of waste created by 432 000 household. These figures are indicate that too much waste is being created, and so therefore there is an urgent need for effective waste management controls to be created at all levels.
Why do we manage waste?
The vast amounts of waste that are produced have led to controls and management of waste to be created, to prevent a build up rubbish. The last 25 years have led to further investment in management of waste, in the light that if nothing is done, then it will become a health risk to humans, and the environment.
Health risk
If correct management if carried out, there will not be a risk to human health. From the time of collection to final disposal, all waste should be kept under control by the appropriate authorities. EC directive 75/442/EEC states, 'The essential objective of all provisions relating to waste disposal must be the protection of human health and the protection of the environment against harmful effects caused by the collection, transport, treatment, storage and tipping of waste.' It also states that it is the responsibility of the state to dispose of the waste without endangering human health or without harming the environment.
To prevent the risk to the public, most is taken straight to the disposal site, so for obvious reasons the workforce they are at the greatest risk. The workforce involved with collection, storage, transport, treatment and the disposal must therefore take the special precautions.
Environmental Risk
Concern over the protection of the environment has increased, as there has been a growing realisation that it has a limited capacity to cope with waste. Pollution affects the ground, water and air that in turn can have an effect on human health.
How do we mange waste?
European Law
Although EC legislation is not directly imposed obligations, they do have a marked effect on the member states policy making. In the last 22o years the European Commission has shown increasing concern over the way waste in being managed, has introduced specific requirements regarding the control for waste and the operation of sites for the disposal of waste.
One of the most important directives is 91/156/EEC. The legislation sets out the requirement for the member states to arrange for preparation of waste management schemes.
The council directive 91/156/EEC also sets out specific issues to be addressed:
Article 5.1 outlined the 'self-sufficiency principal'
* 'Member states shall take appropriate measures, in co-operation with other member states where this is necessary or advisable, to establish an integrated and adequate network of disposable installations, taking into account the best available technology not involving excessive costs. The network must enable the community, as a whole, to become self sufficient in waste disposal and the member states move towards that aim individually, taking into account geographical circumstances or the need for specialised installations for certain types of waste.'
* Article 5.2 outlines the 'Proximity Principal'.
'The network must also ensure waste to be disposed of in one of the nearest appropriate installations, by means of the most appropriate methods and technologies in order to ensure a high level of protection for the environment and health of the public.
The above directives influence nearly all waste management
policies in Europe.
Waste Management in the UK
In 1972, the first act that dealt with the control of waste was passed. It was the Deposit of Poisonous Wastes Act. It lacked flexibility, and due to more public awareness, the 1974 Control of Pollution act was passed. The 1990 Environmental Protection act in turn replaced the 1974 act, and this became into effect between 1991 and 1994. It added further duties to the 1974 act, which were:
. Responsibility widened beyond the disposer of the waste to include the producer and all those along the chain until final disposal.
2. A new duty of care placed on any person importing, producing, carrying, keeping, treating, or disposing of controlled waste, to take into prevent any escape of waste from his control or that of any other person.
3. Continuing liability resting upon the holder of a waste management licence, which may not be relinquished, surrendered or transferred without registering with the local council.
National Management Strategies
The present national strategy for waste is concentrated on a policy of sustainable waste management, in the form of recycling and reusing. In 1990 the UK produced 435 million tonnes of waste, of which a small proportion was managed in an appropriate manner.
Table 2
Estimated Annual Waste Arising in the UK, by sector, 1990
Sector
Millions of tonnes
%
Construction and demolition waste
70
6
Other industrial waste
70
6
Sewage sludge
35
8
Dredged sludge
35
8
Agricultural waste
80
8
Mining and quarrying waste
10
25
Households
20
5
Commercial
5
3
Total
435
00
Source: Making Waste Work (Cm 3040), 1995
Table 3
Proportion of controlled waste in the UK going to different waste management routes, by sector
Sector
Landfill, %
Incineration, %
Recycled/Reused,%
Other, %
Household
90
5
5
0
Commercial
85
7.5
7.5
0
Construction and demolition
30
0
63
7
Other industries
73
8
6
All controlled
70
2
21
7
Source: A Waste strategy for England and Wales. Consultation Draft. 1995.
Table 2 and Table 3 show vast amounts of waste produced and the national reliance on landfill sites in 1990, highlighting the small proportion of waste that is managed efficiently.
The new way of thinking in terms of waste management is to move away form landfill sites and incineration, and move towards more sustainable methods. The Sustainable Strategy, represents a summary of government policies, they are:
. Reducing
2. Re-use
3. Recovery
4. Disposal
The above list, or hierarchy has 3 main objectives, they are:
. To reduce the amount of waste society produces
2. To make the best of what waste is produced
3. To choose waste management policies which will minimise the risks to human safety and health.
The governments overall policy is to therefore increase the proportion of waste managed by the options at the top of the hierarchy. To help direct the policy in its desired direction, by setting targets, which should enable stabilisation, and ultimately, reduction in the production in the amount of waste produced each year.
Local Management Policies
Devon's local policies reflect key national and European targets. This means that careful planning is required to devise a suitable local strategy for waste.
In 1994, 905 of Devon's total waste was lanfilled in one of the six main local sites, or incinerated, in Exeter. The counties landfill sites are all reching capacity. They could all be full within the next ten years, if the current rate production of waste amounts continues. In 1996, a draft management strategy was published. It focused on the next 25 years, in which it was hoped to increase the sustainability of local waste management. It recognised all options of the national hierarchy and their role. It also established that there would always be some unavoidable waste that can only be landfilled.
Some key objectives were:
* Minimisaton of household waste by individuals.
* Establish facilities to manage and dispose of waste produced over the next 25 years
* Reach recycling/composting of 25% by the year 2000 and 40% by 2005
* Chose management options which represent the optimum balance between environment an economic costs; the benefit to human health and environmental protection.
Conclusion
Waste will always be a problem for the human race as it is a product of activity and development. It is therefore of great importance that it is controlled and managed in the best way possible. The UK has followed much of the guidelines set by the European Commission, in it bid to manage waste better. Landfill sites are becoming a quick and easy solution, to a long-term problem. The future in waste management strategies lies in recycling, and re-use. This will reduce the amount of fresh resources being used and reduce the amount of waste that is being dumped in landfill sites.
Sustainable development is a term that can be related to the importance of waste management, and it will ultimately require detailed planning and management in the way the earth's waste is managed.
References
* Study by Royal Society of Chemistry, London, for the European Commission, 1996. Simple guide on Management and control
of wastes.
* Waste management Strategy for Devon. Consultation Draft. October 1996.
* Department of Environment. A waste strategy for England and Wales. Consultation draft. 1995
* O.P. Kharbanda and E.A. Stallworthy. 1990. Waste Management.
* European Commission. 1994. Waste Management Planning in the European Community
* J.Garbutt. 1995. Waste Management Law.
* J.B. Cullinworth & V. Nadin, 1997, Town and Country Planning, 12th edition.
