SITA recycling manager emphasises integrated approach

Last week's article portrayed energy from waste sites in a perspective that failed to appreciate the broader issues facing the UK as it tries to move away from disposing of the bulk of its waste into landfill sites.

As the recycling manager for SITA, the UK's largest waste management company, I know only too well the challenges of moving away from landfill in a country which has very cheap landfill capacity and an historical reluctance to pay for disposal routes which can be more costly. Within SITA we do run several energy from waste plants and fully recognise that the highest of standards need to be achieved and that these have to be integrated with recycling.

1992 start in Germany
It was in 1992 that recycling started to take off in Europe with Germany bringing in environmental legislation several years ahead of the UK because here the economic and social drivers at the time were so very different. Both Germany and France introduced extensive recycling initiatives and at one stage the cost of recycling in Germany grew to such an extent that it acted as a deterrent to the UK who never accepted that this level of funding was appropriate.

Now though, European legislation such as the the Landfill Directive (which requires a move away from landfill) and the Waste Packaging Directive (which requires specific volumes of packaging to be recycled) have at last meant the UK is taking recycling and a sustainable approach to waste management more seriously.

There has long been a debate over the hierarchical nature of waste treatment with Reduction being the most preferred, followed in descending order by Re use, Recycling / Recovery and finally landfill as the option that underpins all others by taking the final residue. The issue for most Governments is that the greater the desire to move treatment options up the hierarchy the greater the cost.

The UK Government has looked for and I believe found the Best Practical Environmental Option for the UK in supporting an integrated waste management solution. This integrated approach acknowledges the need to move up the waste hierarchy, whilst at the same time recognising that the demand for landfill, energy from waste and recycling as waste treatment solutions will be decided by local requirements. At this point in time it is inevitable that both energy from waste and landfill will play a role in the evolution of waste treatment in the UK.

Misconception

There is a common misconception that alternative treatment processes such as energy from waste restrict the requirement for recycling. This is simply not true. The integrated approach to waste management in the UK sets recycling targets and objectives for both now and the future and provides for a suite of waste treatment options that will meet the local and legislative needs in the longer term.
Continued on page 2