Defra report warns 2013 landfill diversion target will be missed

The report was discussed at a meeting earlier this summer of the Department's Waste Strategy Board and covered the work of Defra's Waste Infrastructure Development Programme (WIDP).

An urgent call in the report for a mandate of measures to boost recycling and composting and cut waste reduction was rejected by board members which debated how precise the Department needed to be in its calculations.

Some board members felt that there might be too much diversion capacity while on the other hand there was acceptance that WIDP should plan to achieve targets with a level of 90% confidence.

Now the Department has resolved to work with the Local Government Association to see how it can help councils boost recycling and reduce waste outside the remits of WIDP – which gives out PFI funding for new waste facilities – and is to work with the Environment Agency to see where it could reduce regulatory barriers to landfill diversion.

The actions follow the estimates which were presented by John Burns, director of Defra's Waste Implementation Programme. Mr Burns reported that: “Current projects estimate the UK will landfill 10% more than it is allowed to by 2013, therefore missing the 2013 landfill diversion target.”

The report said that any capacity gap would have to be closed through improved waste reduction, recycling and composting.

As councils were willing to help boost recycling, the strategy board decided that actions would be agreed rather than a formal ‘mandate of measures.'

The minutes of the meeting explained: “It was noted that the LGA would be willing to discuss and explore ways in which recycling rates could be increased. It was suggested therefore that it would not, therefore, be necessary to ‘mandate' additional recycling measures to close capacity gaps, as local authorities were already highly motivated to raise recycling levels.

“In addition, Defra should look to see if there are any regulatory barriers which exist and can be removed to help achieve targets,” it added.

Challenging

Also at the meeting, which is the fifth to have been held by the Waste Strategy Board, Mr Burns gave an update on progress made on the waste infrastructure work stream.

He pointed out that the ongoing credit crunch was providing a challenging climate for waste infrastructure PFI projects, but that recent signs, such as the decision by the Bank of Ireland to back a major PFI project in Manchester, had been “encouraging.”

On a wider basis, he explained that Defra was considering how changing pressures in the economy might affect its programmes and that this was something that was being considered in relation to waste.