The two counties are now publicly consulting on their joint municipal waste strategy, which sets a recycling and composting target of 33% by 2015, and pledges to limit landfill to just 22% of its waste by that year.
The balance between this recycling target and the landfill limit will be carried out through “a form of thermal treatment”, the strategy says, although it casts doubt on energy-from-waste incineration, instead calling for new technologies to be used.
The strategy sees all the councils of the counties linking up for a 30-year period, including the unitary council Herefordshire, the waste disposal authority Worcestershire county council and Worcestershire's six districts.
Tough decisions
Worcestershire county councillor John Smith, chair of the members waste forum, said: “Waste is growing at an alarming rate. The annual cost of dealing with it is 22 million and rising. We have to make tough decisions to tackle the problem.
“A key element is to reduce the amount of waste that is produced, by recycling and composting more. We must think of waste as being a resource from which as much value as possible should be recovered.”
At the moment, the two counties generate about 377,000 tonnes of household waste each year, which is expected to increase to about 588,000 tonnes by 2015/6. In 2002/03, the two counties recycled or composted about 15% of their household waste, with the remainder going to landfill.
Under Herefordshire council and Worcestershire county council's 25-year waste management contract with Severn Waste Services
Government targets are for Herefordshire to recycle 14% by 2003/04 and 21% by 2005/06, while Worcestershire is to reach a 20% recycling rate by 2003/04 and 30% by 2005/06.
As well as reaching the government's targets, the strategy aims to:
- Reduce the weight of waste generated to 2001/02 levels by March 2006
- To provide recycling collections to at least 50% of properties by March 2005.
- To achieve 75% active participation in kerbside recycling schemes by 2006.
- To recycle/compost 50% of waste at civic amenity sites by 2005/06 and 55% by 2010/11
- To recycle or compost 33% of waste by 2015 and landfill a maximum of 22%.
Although the strategy advocates a form of thermal treatment for the largest proportion of its waste in 2015, it says: “No waste to energy facilities are planned to be built in Herefordshire or Worcestershire. However, it may be necessary to use regional facilities to dispose of small amounts of our waste.”
The strategy highlights mechanical biological treatment and anaerobic digestion as “recognised” processes that could be used, but casts some doubt on gasification or pyrolysis because of their lack of use on a commercial scale in the UK.
More information on the joint municipal waste strategy for Herefordshire and Worcestershire is available at www.worcestershire.gov.uk/wastestrategy.
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