It is estimated that 290 million tonnes of
waste
was produced in the
United Kingdom
in 2008 but volumes are declining.
[1]
In 2012
municipal solid waste
generation was almost 30 million tonnes, according to
Waste Atlas
Platform.
[2]
The
National Waste Strategy
is a policy of the government, and in particular the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra), intended to foster a move to sustainability in waste management within
Food waste
[
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During World War II, posters advised on a number of issues, including that of food waste. By 1940, legislation was passed to make the wasting of food an offence due to the food shortages during wartime.
Since 1915,
food waste
has been identified as a considerable problem and has been the subject of ongoing media attention, intensifying with the launch of the "
Love Food, Hate Waste
" campaign in 2007. Food waste has been discussed in newspaper articles, news reports and television programmes, which have increased awareness of it as a public issue. To tackle waste issues, encompassing food waste, the government-funded "
Waste & Resources Action Programme
" (WRAP) was created in 2000.
The main and most common method of disposal in the United Kingdom is
landfill
. Other methods are also used such as
Incineration
and
anaerobic digestion
. Out of all of the waste that was from household, commercial and industrial waste, approximately 57%
[3]
of the waste was disposed in landfill sites. In addition some waste from
sewage sludge
, mining waste, and quarrying waste are moved to landfill sites. Landfill has been the most efficient way of disposal in the UK, as of in 1994 there were approximately 4000 landfill sites.
[3]
Other types of waste
[
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Household waste
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Throughout the country, the average person generates a little over one thousand pounds of waste per year. This average varies city to city-ranging from seven hundred to slightly over thirteen hundred pounds per person a year.
[4]
Commercial waste
[
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In the UK, all businesses and other organisations have a legal duty of care over the waste they generate. This legal responsibility was introduced in the groundbreaking Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990
[5]
and was recently amended by the Environment Act (EA) 2021
[6]
to provide more clarity in definitions and expand responsibilities. The duty of care stipulates that waste generated by non-domestic activities cannot be mingled with the domestic waste stream. Instead, businesses are responsible for the waste they produce until it is recovered of, or disposed of. Most businesses in the UK demonstrate compliance by obtaining a Waste Transfer Note from commercial waste collection providers.
[7]
Fly tipping
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This is the illegal dumping of waste, most commonly found among roadways or abandon areas, which has been increasing and becoming a problem within parts of the UK. Household items are the most commonly found items among incidents. In 2016 there was around one million fly tipping incidents which was more than a 5% increase from the previous year.
[8]
Majority of the culprits are individuals who are unwilling to pay or allocate the time to properly dispose of their waste. The most common size load was equivalent to the size of a small work van. These incidents threaten human health as it pollutes the air and harms the environment significantly. It was estimated that the cost of clearance of this waste by officials was over sixty million dollars. Penalties and regulations have become significantly more harsh in order to deal with this issue.
[8]
Hazardous waste
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This waste is produced mainly from mining and minerals as well as any other unaffiliated oil or oily water. This includes substances such as asbestos, solvents, pesticides, oils etc. They account for the lowest percentage of waste accumulated in the UK, however can be the most harmful if not properly treated and managed.
[9]
Landfills
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Landfills in the United Kingdom are historically very important resources for waste disposal. As it was so important it has become excessively used to the point where some landfills are at capacity. This is because before the
1980s the UK government
previously used the “dilute and disperse” method of waste. The UK is now looking for options to reduce the levels of their landfill sites through legislation. This is a United Kingdom national strategy of which member states set up methods to target
biodegradable materials
in landfills. These methods include and are mainly composed of
recycling
,
composting
, and
biogas production
.
Waste to energy
[
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]
![[icon]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) | This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
December 2015
)
|
There are a number of
Waste-to-energy
power plants in the United Kingdom, especially in
England
. Notable plants include:
- England
- Isle of Man
- Isle of Wight
- Scotland
Waste by country
[
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]
England
[
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]
Scotland
[
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]
In
Scotland
in 1993, 14 million tons of waste was produced. 100,000 tons was toxic waste and 260,000 tons was controlled waste from other parts of Britain and abroad. 45% of the special waste was in liquid form and 18% was
asbestos
-
radioactive waste
was not included. Of the controlled waste, 48% came from the demolition of buildings, 22% from industry, 17% from households and 13% from business - only 3% were recycled. Ninety per cent of controlled waste was buried in
landfill
sites and produced 2 million tons of
methane
gas. 1.5% was burned in
incinerators
and 1.5% were exported to be disposed of or recycled. There are 900 disposal sites in Scotland.
[
citation needed
]
There are very few vacant or derelict land sites in the north east of Scotland, as there are few traditional heavy industries or coal/mineral extraction sites. However some areas are
contaminated
by
aromatic hydrocarbons
(500.25 cubic meters).
[
citation needed
]
Notable waste issues
[
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]
- The
Bawtry gasworks contamination
involved the contamination of land at Bawtry, South Yorkshire, England with hazardous by-products from the manufacture of coal gas.
- The
Spodden Valley asbestos controversy
arose in May 2004 when approximately 72 acres (290,000 m2) of land in Spodden Valley in Rochdale, England, formerly used by Turner Brothers Asbestos Company (later known as Turner & Newall), and the site of the world's largest asbestos textile factory, was sold to MMC Estates, a property developer.
See also
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References
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External links
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