I would like to congratulate every Local Authority for its hard work and commitment
Jane Davidson
According to a Landfill Allowance Scheme report, local authorities across the country managed to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill in 2007-08 for the fourth year running, in a continued bid to reduce the negative environmental effects of landfilled waste, such as carbon emissions.
The report, published by the Environment Agency, revealed that Wales not only managed to achieve the target set for the year by the Welsh Assembly Government but that councils had also closed the gap on the European Landfill Directive Target for 2009/10.
Jane Davidson, minister for environment, said: “I am delighted that for the fourth successive year each Welsh local authority has exceeded its Landfill Allowance Scheme targets. I would like to congratulate every Local Authority for its hard work and commitment and for their continued success in working towards this target.
“These figures show clearly that nationally Wales is ahead of the target set for diverting biodegradable municipal waste from landfill, which in addition to reducing the amount of rubbish that goes into landfill also helps in the battle against climate change,” she added.
Figures
The Landfill Allowances Scheme limits the amount of biodegradable municipal waste – such as paper, cardboard, kitchen scraps and garden cuttings – councils are allowed to send to landfill, and encourages recycling, composting and treatment of this waste.
The report highlighted how councils in Wales sent 680,912 tonnes of biodegradable waste to landfill in 2007/08, compared to the landfill allowance allocation of 866,000 tonnes, showing a reduction of 170,577 tonnes of biodegradable waste landfilled across Wales over the past three years.
Ms Davidson said: “As a nation we need to reduce the amount of waste that we send to landfill as this is the least sustainable method of managing our waste. We need a concerted effort by everyone, both householders and businesses to achieve more recycling and less landfill.”
Chris Mills, Director of Environment Agency Wales, said: “These results show the great progress that the public and Local Authorities have made in reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfill. This will have a real impact towards reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that landfill sites produce.
Future
The report outlined that the waste management strategies adopted by councils over the past three years had put Wales in a good position to deliver on the increasingly tightening targets laid out for 2009/10, which permits an allocation of 710,000 tonnes of biodegradable waste.
However, Mr Mills was keen to urge local authorities to avoid complacency following this success. He said: “We need to build on this. The targets that local authorities have to meet are getting tighter each year. The more we can reduce and recycle waste from homes and businesses, the better. In the long run it will be cheaper, greener and will hopefully mean we see less landfill sites in Wales.”
Welcoming the success, Councillor Aled Roberts (Wrexham), Wales Local Government environment spokesperson, said: “Waste continues to be a huge priority for every council in Wales, particularly as we look ahead to the second directive target year of 2013 and even further ahead to 2025.”
Food
Equally focused on achieving its next target, Ms Davidson said councils in Wales now need to look at ways of recycling food waste in order to meet the next EU target set for 2013.
In April, local authorities were given an extra £15 million in recycling grants, which they were strongly advised to use to prepare for the separate collection and treatment of food waste (see letsrecycle.com story).
Following the grant, Monmouthshire, Torfaen, Merthyr, Carmarthenshire, RCT, Bridgend and Swansea have already started to introduce food waste collection service, while Cardiff, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, Conwy, Wrexham, and Blaenau Gwent are planning to start collections later this year or early next year.
“Food waste is an area of great potential and exploiting this will be essential if we are to continue increasing the amount of waste we recycle and divert from landfill. There are significant opportunities to generate renewable energy through the use of anaerobic digestion of this food waste,” she added.
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