Waste

The disposal of waste is important for quality of life as waste needs to be carefully managed to avoid impacting on public health and the environment. In 2004/5, the total amount of waste produced in Hertfordshire was approximately 2 million tonnes, around a quarter of which was household waste¹. This equates to a 2.8% increase in household waste since 2003/4, reversing the recent trend of downward growth and returning to the more usual annual trend. Waste generation grew to an average of 507 kg per person, and 1189 kg per household. In 2004/5 more than 300,000 tonnes of Hertfordshire's household waste was disposed of outside the county, at facilities in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and North London.

In 2004/5,

331,162 tonnes of waste was put into domestic dustbins - a decrease of 1.3% on 2003/4.
58,073 tonnes was disposed of through the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) - 13% less than in the previous year.
140,983 tonnes were recycled or composted - raising the countywide recycling rate to 26.7% from 21.9% in 2003/4.

Around 67% of the household waste produced in Hertfordshire in 2004/5 was disposed of in landfill sites, but these sites are running out of space and fewer are being created. In fact, the latest calculations show that, in Hertfordshire, we could run out of landfill space soon after 2008.

Indicator WS1 - Household waste per capita

Household waste per capita

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The 2004/5 figures show an overall increase of 2.4% when compared to the previous year.

Indicator WS2 - Waste produced per household

Waste produced per household

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Indicator WS3 - Percentage of waste recycled

Local authority recycling performance

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Recycling rates in Hertfordsire

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Recycling is an important element of any successful waste management strategy in that it has the benefit of reducing the amount of waste requiring disposal.

In 2004/5, 26.7% of household waste produced was recycled, almost 141,000 tonnes, demonstrating the commitment of Hertfordshire's local councils to increasing the county's average recycling level to more than 30% by 2005/6. The graph below shows the individual recycling performance for each of the ten Hertfordshire district and borough councils.

In 2004/5 the County Council recycled 47.6% of the waste received at its 19 HWRCs. The graph shown opposite includes figures for the household waste collected for recycling² by the councils and various voluntary groups for which the County Council has paid recycling credits.

The County Council's recycling rate at the Household Waste Sites rose by almost 7%, largely as a result of the continued commitment to recycling and the further development of separate collection facilities for recyclable materials. The effect of waste minimisation initiatives, such as home composting, is not evident in the statistics, as there is no reliable way of accurately measuring their effect. They are however, extremely beneficial in reducing the amount of waste requiring disposal.

The County Council's Home Composting Sponsorship Scheme has encouraged many of the district and borough councils to promote the sale of home composting units to their residents at reduced prices, with the result that now more than 80,000 of Hertfordshire's households have purchased subsidised units.

The Hertfordshire WasteAware campaign, now in its eighth year, made further progress in raising awareness of the significant waste management issues that must be faced in Hertfordshire. Councils are continuing to work in partnership to enhance the public's understanding of the measures that must be taken to achieve sustainable waste management in the County, through the promotion of the principles of the waste hierarchy - reduce, reuse, recycle and recover.

The campaign activities included a wide range of promotional events aimed at:

Reducing how much waste is produced
Making the best use of the waste that is produced
Choosing waste management practices which minimise the risks of immediate and future environmental pollution and harm to health.

In 2004/5 the major issue for Hertfordshire County Council was the need to make further progress towards achievement of the Government's statutory recycling and composting target of 30% in the year 2005/6. Although this target is given to the County Council as the Waste Disposal Authority for Hertfordshire, it is in fact a measure of the combined efforts of all the eleven Hertfordshire waste authorities. The fact that, following the achievement of the Government's target of 20% in 2003/4, recycling and composting grew to almost 27% in 2004/5 is evidence that the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy is proving to be robust and that the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership is effective.

There is, however, no room for complacency as 2005/6 will see the introduction of the Government's Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) and, with it, the need to begin a process of reducing the amount of biodegradable municipal waste that is disposed of in landfills. This scheme will effectively end local authority dependence on landfill as its primary means of disposal. Alternative forms of waste treatment will need to be developed to take its place and the County Council and the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership will soon be deciding which of the emerging new technologies will be most suitable for the County.

Another challenge that the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership will soon have to face is compliance with the new legislation that is being prepared for the management of Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), which will radically alter the ways in which household items such as televisions and washing machines are disposed of.

¹Household waste is made up of 'dustbin' waste collected by the district and borough councils, litter, street sweepings, waste that is received at the 19 Household Waste Recycling Centres provided by the County Council, and waste that is recycled from the domestic waste stream. Non-household waste is made up of commercial, industrial, and construction and demolition wastes.

²Included in the tonnages is the material that is collected in bottle banks, can banks and paper banks etc. Not included is the trade waste recycling by businesses and charity shops.