The move, which the government has discussed with the European Commission, would be intended to bring the UK into line with calculations of municipal waste and biodegradable waste diversion used by other EU Member States.
Under the proposed change, the government would look to create a convergence between household and commercial waste which would see waste tackled regardless of its source.
This would mean that Defra would have to adjust the baseline projections for the diversion of biodegradable waste from landfill under the EU Landfill Directive, which requires the UK to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste it sends to landfill to 75% of waste produced in 1995 by 2010, 50% by 2013 and 35% by 2020.
Defra claimed that its provisional analysis had shown that an alteration to its approach would not jeopardise council efforts to meet diversion targets for 2010.
Defra said in a statement published yesterday: “Our provisional analysis is that the UK's position relative to meeting the landfill targets will be similar to the previous approach, and we are confident that we remain on course to meet the first target year in 2010.”
Implications
In making the change to the baseline figures, Defra said it did not want to disadvantage local authorities and said they would not be required to manage this additional waste.
And, it claimed that the existing landfill allowances would not be altered, although the change would be a prime opportunity to review the range of policies in place to help prevent waste being sent to landfill.
Defra intends to consult on the implications of the change – including any impact it could have for the Landfill Allowance Schemes, early in the New Year. And, Defra plans to link the work to a consultation on proposed landfill bans (see letsrecycle.com story).
Commercial
The new approach is based on the EU lists of wastes, the European Waste Catalogue, which includes all material categorised under Chapter 20. These include household waste and similar commercial, industrial and institutional wastes.
In addition, the new approach will incorporate some of Chapter 19 from the same list, which covers waste landfilled that has been through some form of treatment process, such as landfilled material at the end of the mechanical biological treatment process.
Commercial waste has become an area of “increased focus” for Defra, with environment secretary Hilary Benn publishing an action plan for the commercial and industrial sector in October (see letsrecycle.com story).
Register for free to comment