England - Government consults on waste strategy

England - Government consults on waste strategy

New targets to recycle up to half of all household waste is just one of a number of proposals in a major consultation on the Government's strategy for waste in England.

Launching the consultation, Minister for Local Environment Quality, Ben Bradshaw said "We've made some really positive progress since 2000: recycling and composting of household waste has doubled, nearly 50 per cent of packaging waste is being recycled and less waste is being sent to landfill. We need to put more effort into producing less waste in the first place, before considering how to make more use of the waste which is left by reusing, recycling, composting or using it as a fuel".

In a YouGov survey for Defra, only 3% of people always think about how they are going to get rid of the everyday items they buy when they no longer need or want it, half of people admitted that it never crosses their minds. Indeed, many people thought they were paying more for waste collection, treatment and disposal than they actually were. Most people (38%) think that it currently costs local authorities £10 per week to collect and deal with their household waste, in fact it is on average just £2 per household.

Among the measures being proposed are:

*Greater focus on producing less waste in the first place by:
• developing a greater emphasis on eco-design
• increased engagement with businesses and householders on waste prevention
• more agreements with businesses to take greater responsibility for their products at the end of their life

*New recycling and composting targets for household waste are proposed:
• 40% in 2010
• 45% by 2015
• 50% by 2020

Recovering more resources from businesses waste with new targets for a reduction in the proportion of commercial and industrial waste landfilled, more help for small businesses and a more joined up approach in managing waste from different sources facilitated by local authorities and regional bodies.

Making proper use of new investment to recover energy from waste as an alternative to landfill, but not at the expense of practical waste prevention and recycling by seeing a more modest growth than original estimates. It is proposed to set a target for 67% recovery of waste by 2015 by recycling, composting, energy from waste (incineration, pyrolysis and gasification) and digestion with at least 45% composting and recycling.

The consultation paper Review of England's Waste Strategy A Consultation Document February 2006 (0.8MB) is available from Defra's website