Waste Management

The West of England area has very few facilities for dealing with residual waste - the left over rubbish which cannot be re-used, recycled or composted. 

Currently our rubbish is sent to landfill sites elsewhere in the country - wasting a potential resource and damaging the environment. European laws will soon impose heavy fines on councils who send too much biodegradeable waste to landfill.

For the last three years the four West of England councils have been working together to find the best ways of reducing the amount of rubbish, increasing the amount which is recycled and finding ways to divert waste from landfill.   We have consulted with the public (in the ‘Rubbish or Resource?’ Issues and Options consultation held in 2007) and have sought expert help from specialists in the industry.  We have also looked at what other councils do and at how waste is managed in other parts of the world.

The Government is imposing fines on all councils that send more than their permitted allowance to landfill. If we fail to take action these fines will make a very real impact on council finances so there is an urgent need to find workable and cost-effective solutions. Working in Partnership offers economic, environmental and social advantages such as:

Maximising economies of scale;

Minimising environmental impacts;

Minimising transport requirements; and

Providing best value for the tax payer.

A jointly produced Waste Strategy has been adopted by all four councils which sets out a 'four-phased' plan to deal with waste for 20 years or more.  

In addition to the Waste Strategy for the management of waste a Joint Waste Development Plan is being drawn up which will assist in identifying suitable locations for any new waste facilities. The Development Plan takes into account not just the residual waste produced by householders, but also the much larger amount of waste produced by commerce and industry.

Phase 2 procurement is now complete and the four West of England councils are set to save £44 million over the next five years, and reduce the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill by 75%, thanks to a waste management contract awarded to Dorset company New Earth Solutions...read more..

We are still transferring informaiton from the www.rubbbishorresource.co.uk