SITA UK said that the lack of any firm policy direction on waste management and an outdated planning system meant the UK is doomed to miss European Union targets for recycling.
With insufficient waste management facilities available, the country is almost certainly going to be hit with large fines from Brussels, it predicted.
If the UK does fail to meet the Landfill Directive targets for the diversion of municipal waste from landfill, European fines are likely to be in the order of 500,000 a day while the country is in breach.
SITA UK's technical director Dr Gev Eduljee said: “The UK's position is simple. Without adequate treatment facilities the UK will miss its targets by a long shot. The backlog of planning applications and long term strategic direction is stalling the development of new facilities.”
SITA's warning follows the recent Institution of Civil Engineers report that concluded more then 2,000 recycling plants are needed over the next two decades in order to avert a “waste crisis” (see letsrecycle.com story). And earlier this month recycling expert Dr David Davies told delegates at the Resource Recovery Forum that UK strategies were “fundamentally flawed” and unlikely to meet the EU deadlines (see letsrecycle.com story).
Position papers
SITA has produced a series of position papers on materials recycling, energy from waste, mechanical biological treatment, composting, landfills and their economic provisions and financial instruments. The papers recognise that there will always be some residual waste that needs to be treated despite all efforts to recover and recycle.
Energy from waste and landfill still have a role in waste management in the UK, the company said, but there is a real need to investigate new technology and implement it where appropriate.
The company said that mechanical biological treatment (MBT), seen by many as the answer to the Landfill Directive's landfill diversion demands, will “continue to carry high commercial risks” unless UK policy is developed to support the use of refuse-derived fuel (RDF), the end product of the MBT process.
SITA said Landfill Tax funds needed to be diverted to promote recycling and sustainable waste management, and it said producer responsibility needed to be extended to householders. This should be through some form of “variable charges based on the volume or weight of waste produced”.
SITA's position papers can be found at: www.sita.co.uk
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