Environment Agency chief damns UK approach to household waste

Commenting on the urgent need for greater public debate on waste, Barbara Young is to say: “Each one of us is a waste producer yet most people appear unaware about what happens to their waste, unless a landfill or incinerator is planned for their neighbourhood. There is public concern about most waste disposal routes, including landfill, incineration and composting, yet domestic waste continues to rise at 3% per annum.

“Progress in waste reduction, re-use and recycling are too slow. Over the next year, I want to see greater public awareness and involvement in the debate about waste management. To this end the Agency continues to extend the amount of information that is available publicly particularly on our web-site.”

Commenting on the cost of waste she will say: “There is a clear incentive for business to minimise waste. It makes sound economic sense with direct benefit to their bottom line. However, householders are cocooned from the true cost of waste. No matter how much is produced households are charged the same. If Britain fails to control its run-away wastage, even at today’s bargain-basement waste management prices, it will cost an extra 1billion per year just to cope with the additional domestic dustbin load by 2020. I want to see greater incentives for the reduction of domestic waste.

“Britons already produce one and half times the waste per person of our European neighbours, and are set to equal US waste production unless we act quickly. If we do not, our dustbin waste will double by 2020. Waste that will have to go in someone’s backyard.”

The cost of disposal of household waste is around 50 per household per year. This compares with water and sewage bills of about 233 per (un-metered) household, or 197 for metered homes.

Barbara Young will also call for the early introduction of municipal waste incinerators and hazardous waste treatment plants into the new Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) regime, currently planned for August 2005. This will allow the Agency to regulate more effectively all emissions to air, land and water from these sites. This new IPPC regime also includes methods to encourage waste minimisation and energy efficiency.