The Somerset Waste Partnership, Devon and Dorset county councils all told letsrecycle.com last week that waste levels have dropped, while waste management companies such as Cory Environmental, Grundon and Viridor have also said they have seen a decline.
Of those which gave figures, the fall ranged between 2% and 10% compared to comparative figures in 2008.
The fall was particularly seen at household waste and recycling centres and is believed to stem from the fact that people are increasingly looking to extend the operational life of items and are not undertaking home improvements due to the recession.
Steve Reed, managing director of the Somerset Waste Partnership, said: “I think that the recession certainly has had an impact and people are purchasing less and repairing more, there are less white goods being disposed of. One of the main materials we are not getting is building rubble because people are not doing home improvements.”
Malcolm Ward, chief executive of London-based waste management firm Cory Environmental, added that: “Most operators appear to have experienced a slight downturn in municipal and commercial waste arisings since the general slowdown in the economy began to bite.
And, Graham Warren, South East regional director for waste management firm Viridor Waste Management, said: “There has been a slowing of overall volumes however the impact is sporadic, construction volumes and recycling have been impacted including plate glass however bottle glass volumes have slightly increased. Viridor's core domestic inputs have remained relatively steady.”
Factors
While the recession was cited as the main reason for the fall in arisings, other factors are also believed to have played a part. Richard Skehens, managing director of Grundon, claimed that it was only a “small downturn in waste arisings” and highlighted the impact that the harsh winter weather had had as well.
He said: “If you look at February, our workers couldn't even get the trucks out of the yard on some days, so that is going to have a factor and you have to look back two or three months to get a clearer picture of the decline.”
Julia Barrett of the County Surveyor's Society – the representative body for local authority chief officers – claimed that the fall in arisings was discussed at a meeting held by the Society's waste panel but said that “people weren't just saying it was happening now but had been happening over the last two or three years” and claimed that waste minimisation campaigns could also be taking effect.
She said: “The supermarkets and people being more sensitive to the packaging they have. We have kept beating ourselves up that we are not getting across the message but perhaps we are.”
Reduction
Ben Jennings, head of waste reduction and recycling at Devon county council, explained that the fall in Devon was around 3%.
He said: “We were anticipating a 1% year-on-year decline and now we would anticipate a 1% decline based on our own efforts and a further 2% due to recessionary effects, which is showing a lot more in the overall reduction.”
Steve Burdis, chairman of the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO), claimed that the reduction could be a “positive thing” as it would mean less waste was going to landfill and that could potentially reduce the cost of Landfill Allowances councils would have to buy.
Also welcoming the reduction as an encouraging turn, Mr Reed said: “In real terms waste reduction is a positive thing. We have been trying to decouple waste growth from economic growth for many years and our work suggest that we have succeeded in decoupling them.”
Over-capacity
Despite the potential benefits of the reduction in waste, concerns have been raised that it could also render the development of some new waste treatment infrastructure unnecessary.
Shlomo Dowen, national coordinator, UK Without Incineration Network (UK WIN), claimed the current situation could act as “an advertisement for modular facilities which can be scaled up and down in accordance with economic activity” and advised councils to adapt to changing trends in waste volumes.
Dominic Hogg of consultancy firm Eunomia told letsrecycle.com that there had been evidence of waste arising falling even before the recession and that councils beginning to develop facilities should take this into account.
However, he pointed out that many were still in the planning stages and that they would welcome the trend, commenting: “The majority of waste disposal authorities do not have many residual waste treatment facilities and they may be simply getting planning started to construct something or haven't stopped using landfill and so may also be in the procurement stage. They will probably be quite happy.”
Mr Burdis added that he believed it would be pre-emptive for councils to change their long term plans based on the current situation, because it could just be a short-term trend.
He said: “I would err on the side of caution if that would prevent local authorities from developing infrastructure. We still have pressing targets to meet and a potential ban on biodegradable waste from landfill from the EU.”
Register for free to comment