Recycling and waste
Taking action on waste is essential, since we are consuming natural resources at an unsustainable rate and contributing unnecessarily to climate change.
Each year we generate about 100 million tonnes of waste from households, commerce and industry combined. Most of this currently ends up in landfill, where biodegradable waste generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. And much valuable energy is used up in making new products which are later disposed of, so also contributing to climate change.
Waste Strategy 2007
The Government has set out its vision for sustainable waste management in Waste Strategy for England 2007. The Government’s key objectives are to:
- decouple waste growth (in all sectors) from economic growth and put more emphasis on waste prevention and re-use;
- meet and exceed the Landfill Directive diversion targets for biodegradable municipal waste in 2010, 2013 and 2020;
- increase diversion from landfill of non-municipal waste and secure better integration of treatment for municipal and non-municipal waste;
- secure the investment in infrastructure needed to divert waste from landfill and for the management of hazardous waste; and
- get the most environmental benefit from that investment, through increased recycling of resources and recovery of energy from residual waste using a mix of technologies.
Get the Strategy documents at: Waste Strategy for England 2007
Latest news
- 18 December 2007: Informal consultation on Review of Inert Waste Regulation
- 15 November 2007: New powers to pilot waste incentive schemes
- 19 September 2007: Waste and Resources Evidence Strategy 2007-2011
- 24 May 2007: Waste Strategy 2007 published
- 16 April 2007: Report to Defra Economies of Scale - Waste Management Optimisation Study published
- 29 March 2007: consultation launched on the future regulation of pet cemeteries
- 16 March 2007: health impact assessment of alternate week waste collections of bio-degradable waste
(910 KB) - 13 March 2007: Defra stakeholder engagement strategy on better waste regulation for business
- 28 February 2007: agreement reached with retailers on a voluntary code for plastic bags - news release 54/07
- 25 January 2007: announcement on joint waste authorities
Following the publication of Waste Strategy for England 2007 we will be updating other areas in this website. For further information on various issues surrounding waste, see the following sections:
- What happens to waste - What is waste?; Reduce; Re-use; Recycle/Recover; Disposal
- Types of waste
- Information for local authorities
- Producer Responsibility
- Waste Implementation Programme - Responds to measures recommended by the Strategy Unit report "Waste Not, Want Not" on local authority support; R&D; and waste minimisation, awareness and kerbside collection
- Licensing & Enforcement
- Statistics & Research - The annual Municipal Waste Management Survey and other material
- Community sector
- Contacts & Advisory Committees
See also:
Page last modified: 17 December 2007
Page published: 5 February 2003