Waste

Recycling rates rise as waste is reduced

The careful management of waste is important for maintaining standards of quality of life by helping to avoid adverse impacts on public health and the environment.

In 2008/09, the total amount of waste produced in Hertfordshire was estimated to be in the region of 3 million tonnes. Of this, household waste¹ accounted for around 524,000 tonnes. This figure is actually 2% less compared to the previous year. On average, each Hertfordshire resident produced 491 kg of waste in 2008/09 (WS1), and each household 1.14 tonnes (WS2).

Hertfordshire residents recycled 44% of their waste in 2008/09, compared to the national average of 37.6%. This is the result of:

an increased awareness of the 4 Rs: ‘reduce, re-use, recycle, recover’
changes and enhancements to kerbside collections and at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs)
an increased food and cardboard recycling service and increased access to kerbside plastic bottle recycling

In 2008/09, 235,766 tonnes of Hertfordshire’s municipal waste² was disposed of outside of the county, at facilities in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and North London.

Source: www.wastedataflow.org (quarterly waste figures for 2008/09 submitted by Hertfordshire County Council's Waste Management Unit)
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Of the 524,000 tonnes of household waste produced in 2008/09:

Around 231,000 tonnes were diverted from disposal through re-use, recycling and composting. Of this total, 120,000 tonnes were sent for re-use and recycling, and around 111,000 tonnes were composted
For the first time, less than half of all household waste was sent to landfill

Indicator WS1 - Household Waste Per Capita

Almost all areas of Hertfordshire saw residents produce less waste in comparison to the year before, especially in the waste which was not recycled, signalling an increased awareness in the need to reduce and re-use waste as much as possible, as well as recycling.

Local Authority	Waste per Capita(kg) 2007/08	Waste per Capita(kg) 2008/09
Broxbourne	451	424
Dacorum	422	409
East Herts	419	421
Hertsmere	412	401
North Herts	447	424
St Albans	402	397
Stevenage	412	408
Three Rivers	418	404
Watford	401	395
Welwyn Hatfield	423	433
HWRCs	83	79

Source: HCC Waste Management Unit

Indicator WS2 - Waste Produced Per Household

Local Authority	Waste per Household (kg) 2007/08	Waste per Household (kg) 2008/09
Broxbourne	1,044	984
Dacorum	980	983
East Herts	974	980
Hertsmere	977	954
North Herts	1,012	957
St Albans	928	918
Stevenage	943	926
Three Rivers	1,002	971
Watford	901	881
Welwyn Hatfield	991	1,019
HWRCs	197	184

Source: HCC Waste Management Unit

The effects of waste minimisation initiatives, such as home composting and re-usable nappies, are not evident in the statistics. They are, however, extremely beneficial in reducing the amount of waste requiring disposal. The Hertfordshire Waste Partnership continues to promote home composting, enabling residents and schools to buy low cost bins to turn their own organic waste into a valuable soil improver for their garden. The Hertfordshire Waste Partnership also continues to provide families opting to buy cotton nappies with a cashback payment to reflect the saving made on diverting waste from landfill.

Recycling and Composting

In 2008/09, the level of household waste recycled or composted was 44%, up from 38% the previous year, progressing towards the county’s average recycling target of 50% by 2012/13.

Indicator WS3 - Percentage of waste re-used, recycled or composted (NI 192)

Percentage of waste recycled

Source: Hertfordshire County Council's Waste Management Unit
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Also in 2008/09 the county council recycled 60% of the waste received at its HWRCs. This represented further improvement in the recycling rate at the HWRCs, as new materials were separated for recycling. This included the amount and types of wood waste being recycled, recycling services for drinks cartons and cooking oil and the separation of soil and rubble.

Disposal of Hertfordshire’s waste in the future

The use of landfill is not a sustainable option so seeking alternative methods of disposing of waste which cannot be recycled or composted is a priority for Hertfordshire County Council.

The county council is currently deciding which of the emerging new technologies will be most suitable for Hertfordshire, and where such facilities should be located. The county council has been successful in complying with all three years of the Government’s Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS), using 74% of its allocated tonnage of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill.

However, in addition to this, the sharp increases in landfill tax, paid on each tonne of waste sent to landfill, will continue to increase by £8 per year, from £40 per tonne in 2009 to £72 in 2013. This increases economic pressure to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

WasteAware

Changes in waste management are accompanied by strong communication efforts through the Hertfordshire WasteAware campaign. In 2008/09, WasteAware continued to make progress in raising awareness of the significant waste issues, promoting:

the principles of the waste hierarchy: reduce, reuse, recycle, recover; and
the national Love Food Hate Waste campaign.

Love Food Hate Waste campaign display

Love Food Hate Waste Campaign at the County Show

1 Includes waste from household collection rounds, waste from services such as street sweeping, bulky waste collection, hazardous household waste collection, litter collections, household clinical waste collection and separate garden waste collection, waste from civic amenity sites and wastes separately collected for recycling or composting through bring/drop off schemes, kerbside schemes and at civic amenity sites.
2 This includes household waste, some commercial or industrial waste and waste resulting from the clearance of fly-tipped materials.
3 Figures incorporate all waste residents placed out in their refuse bins, recycling bring banks, their recycling boxes and green waste bins. The amount of waste deposited at the household waste recycling centres is included separately.