Moving towards Zero Waste in a UK Local Authority Area: Challenges to the Introduction of Separate Food Waste Collections
EU and UK Government targets for minimising and recycling household waste has led the responsible authorities to research the alternatives to landfill. In the work reported here the local waste collection authority (Charnwood Borough Council) has adopted the aspirational strategy of becoming a “Zero Waste Borough” to lead the drive for public participation. The work concludes that the separate collection of food waste would be needed to meet the two regulatory standards on recycling and biologically active wastes.
An analysis of a neighbouring Authority (Newcastle-Under-Lyne Borough Council (NBC), a similar sized local authority that has a successful weekly food waste collection service was undertaken. Results indicate that the main challenges for Charnwood Borough Council would be gaining householder co-operation, the extra costs of collection and organising alternative treatment. The analysis also demonstrated that there was potential offset value via anaerobic digestion for CBC to overcome these difficulties and improve its recycling performance.
[1] Watson, M. & Bulkeley, H., "Just Waste? Municipal Waste Management and the Politics of Environmental Justice”, Local Environment, 10:4 (2005), 411-426.
[2] Defra, 2014, Statistics on waste managed by local authorities in England in 2012/13, London, Defra.
[3] European Parliament and Council Directive, 1999, European Parliament and Council Directive. Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC available at http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31999L0031:EN:NOT.
[4] Price,J.L. "The Landfill Directive and the challenge ahead demands and pressures on the UK householder”, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 32 (2001) 333-348.
[5] Defra, 2007. Waste Strategy for England 2007, London, Defra.
[6] Defra, 2011, Government Waste Policy Review, London, Defra.
[7] Defra, 2013, Waste Management Plan for England, London, Defra.
[8] European Commission, 2011, Roadmap to a resource efficient Europe (COM (2011) 571) (online) available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ resource_efficiency/pdf/com2011_571.pdf accessed 20/3/14.
[9] IMechE, 2013, Global Food, waste not, want not, 2013, IMechE, London, available online http://www.imeche.org/docs/default-source/reports/Global_Food_Report.pdf?sfvrsn=0 accessed 16/7/13
[10] WRAP, 2012, Household food and drink waste in the UK 2012 report, Banbury. WRAP.
[11] WRAP, 2009. Food waste collection guidance, Banbury, WRAP
[12] Iriate,A., Gabarrell,X. & Rieradevall,J. "LCA of Selective Waste Collection Systems in Dense Urban Areas”, Waste Management, 29 (2009) 903-914.
[13] Zero Waste Scotland, 2010, The composition of municipal solid waste in Scotland, Zero Waste Scotland, Stirling.
[14] Burnley,S. "A review of municipal solid waste composition in the United Kingdom, Waste Management” 27 (2007) 1274,1285.
[15] Demirbas,A., "Waste management, waste resource facilities and waste conversion processes”, Energy Conversion and Management, 52 (2011) 1280-1287.
[16] Cole, C, Osmani, M, Quddus, MA, Wheatley, AD, Kay, K (2011) Household waste management in the UK: current practices and challenges. In Castro, F, Vilarinho, C, Carvalho, J (ed) Proceedings of the First International Conference on Wastes: Solutions, Treatments and Opportunities, Guimarães, Portugal, pp.56-61.
[17] Animal By-Products Regulations, 2005, London: HMSO (online) available www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/by-prods/legislation.htm accessed 20/3/14.
[18] Xian,F.L., Nair,J., & Goen,H., "Potential for energy generation for anaerobic food waste in Australia”, Waste Management & research, 13 (2013) 283.
[19] WRAP, 2010, Performance analysis of mixed food and garden waste collection schemes, Banbury, WRAP.
[20] Williams, I.D. and Wilson, C.D.H. "Kerbside recycling: a case study from the North-west of England”. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 52:2 (2007) 381-394.
[21] Waste Data Flow. Available via http://www.wastedataflow.org (date of last access 18/3/2014).
[22] Audit Commission (2005) Waste Management Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, London, UK.
[23] Audit Commission (2009) Environment - Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, London UK.
[24] Hassall, C, 2013. Driving the zero waste agenda; designing a plan for Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council to work towards zero waste place status. MSc. Northampton: University of Northampton.
[25] Martin M, Williams I.D., & Clark M. "Social, Cultural and structural influences on household waste recycling: A case study”, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 48 (2006) 357-395.
[26] Waste (Scotland) 2012 Regulations (online) available from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2012/9780111016657/contents accessed 1/4/14.
[27] Charnwood Borough Council, 2013. Zero Waste Strategy for Charnwood Borough 2012-2024, Loughborough, Charnwood Borough Council.
[28] Staffordshire Waste Partnership, (2013) 2013 Refresh of the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy for Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent (2007 - 2020), From zero waste to landfill towards a resourceful economy, Staffordshire Waste Partnership, Stafford. (online) available from http://www.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/pages/2013%20refreshed%20strategy%20%20for%20consultation%20FINAL.pdf accessed 14/2/14.
[29] Defra, 2008, Municipal waste composition – A review of municipal waste component analyses, (Defra project WR0119), London, Defra
[30] WastesWork, 2009, Waste Composition Study for Leicestershire County and District Councils, Autumn 2009, Wem, WastesWork.
[1] Watson, M. & Bulkeley, H., "Just Waste? Municipal Waste Management and the Politics of Environmental Justice”, Local Environment, 10:4 (2005), 411-426.
[2] Defra, 2014, Statistics on waste managed by local authorities in England in 2012/13, London, Defra.
[3] European Parliament and Council Directive, 1999, European Parliament and Council Directive. Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC available at http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31999L0031:EN:NOT.
[4] Price,J.L. "The Landfill Directive and the challenge ahead demands and pressures on the UK householder”, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 32 (2001) 333-348.
[5] Defra, 2007. Waste Strategy for England 2007, London, Defra.
[6] Defra, 2011, Government Waste Policy Review, London, Defra.
[7] Defra, 2013, Waste Management Plan for England, London, Defra.
[8] European Commission, 2011, Roadmap to a resource efficient Europe (COM (2011) 571) (online) available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ resource_efficiency/pdf/com2011_571.pdf accessed 20/3/14.
[9] IMechE, 2013, Global Food, waste not, want not, 2013, IMechE, London, available online http://www.imeche.org/docs/default-source/reports/Global_Food_Report.pdf?sfvrsn=0 accessed 16/7/13
[10] WRAP, 2012, Household food and drink waste in the UK 2012 report, Banbury. WRAP.
[11] WRAP, 2009. Food waste collection guidance, Banbury, WRAP
[12] Iriate,A., Gabarrell,X. & Rieradevall,J. "LCA of Selective Waste Collection Systems in Dense Urban Areas”, Waste Management, 29 (2009) 903-914.
[13] Zero Waste Scotland, 2010, The composition of municipal solid waste in Scotland, Zero Waste Scotland, Stirling.
[14] Burnley,S. "A review of municipal solid waste composition in the United Kingdom, Waste Management” 27 (2007) 1274,1285.
[15] Demirbas,A., "Waste management, waste resource facilities and waste conversion processes”, Energy Conversion and Management, 52 (2011) 1280-1287.
[16] Cole, C, Osmani, M, Quddus, MA, Wheatley, AD, Kay, K (2011) Household waste management in the UK: current practices and challenges. In Castro, F, Vilarinho, C, Carvalho, J (ed) Proceedings of the First International Conference on Wastes: Solutions, Treatments and Opportunities, Guimarães, Portugal, pp.56-61.
[17] Animal By-Products Regulations, 2005, London: HMSO (online) available www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/by-prods/legislation.htm accessed 20/3/14.
[18] Xian,F.L., Nair,J., & Goen,H., "Potential for energy generation for anaerobic food waste in Australia”, Waste Management & research, 13 (2013) 283.
[19] WRAP, 2010, Performance analysis of mixed food and garden waste collection schemes, Banbury, WRAP.
[20] Williams, I.D. and Wilson, C.D.H. "Kerbside recycling: a case study from the North-west of England”. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 52:2 (2007) 381-394.
[21] Waste Data Flow. Available via http://www.wastedataflow.org (date of last access 18/3/2014).
[22] Audit Commission (2005) Waste Management Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, London, UK.
[23] Audit Commission (2009) Environment - Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, London UK.
[24] Hassall, C, 2013. Driving the zero waste agenda; designing a plan for Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council to work towards zero waste place status. MSc. Northampton: University of Northampton.
[25] Martin M, Williams I.D., & Clark M. "Social, Cultural and structural influences on household waste recycling: A case study”, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 48 (2006) 357-395.
[26] Waste (Scotland) 2012 Regulations (online) available from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2012/9780111016657/contents accessed 1/4/14.
[27] Charnwood Borough Council, 2013. Zero Waste Strategy for Charnwood Borough 2012-2024, Loughborough, Charnwood Borough Council.
[28] Staffordshire Waste Partnership, (2013) 2013 Refresh of the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy for Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent (2007 - 2020), From zero waste to landfill towards a resourceful economy, Staffordshire Waste Partnership, Stafford. (online) available from http://www.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/pages/2013%20refreshed%20strategy%20%20for%20consultation%20FINAL.pdf accessed 14/2/14.
[29] Defra, 2008, Municipal waste composition – A review of municipal waste component analyses, (Defra project WR0119), London, Defra
[30] WastesWork, 2009, Waste Composition Study for Leicestershire County and District Councils, Autumn 2009, Wem, WastesWork.
@article{"International Journal of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences:67371", author = "C. Cole and M. Osmani and A. Wheatley and M. Quddus", title = "Moving towards Zero Waste in a UK Local Authority Area: Challenges to the Introduction of Separate Food Waste Collections ", abstract = "EU and UK Government targets for minimising and recycling household waste has led the responsible authorities to research the alternatives to landfill. In the work reported here the local waste collection authority (Charnwood Borough Council) has adopted the aspirational strategy of becoming a “Zero Waste Borough” to lead the drive for public participation. The work concludes that the separate collection of food waste would be needed to meet the two regulatory standards on recycling and biologically active wastes.
An analysis of a neighbouring Authority (Newcastle-Under-Lyne Borough Council (NBC), a similar sized local authority that has a successful weekly food waste collection service was undertaken. Results indicate that the main challenges for Charnwood Borough Council would be gaining householder co-operation, the extra costs of collection and organising alternative treatment. The analysis also demonstrated that there was potential offset value via anaerobic digestion for CBC to overcome these difficulties and improve its recycling performance.
", keywords = "England, Food Waste Collections, Household Waste, Local Authority.", volume = "8", number = "6", pages = "397-6", }
