England
During 2008 regulated facilities in England and Wales managed a total of around 150 million tonnes of waste. Of this:
- 56.7 million tonnes were landfilled;
- 46.8 million tonnes were transferred, before final disposal or recovery;
- 27.8 million tonnes were treated;
- 13 million tonnes were handled through metal recycling facilities;
- five million tonnes were incinerated.
During 2008 in England and Wales, 6.4 million tonnes of hazardous waste were managed, generated from over 200,000 businesses and industry. Waste to landfill continued to decrease, falling by over 11 per cent between 2007 and 2008 and has fallen 33 per cent since 2000. One of the principal reasons is the implementation of the Landfill Directive. Many older landfill sites that did not meet the stringent requirements of the Directive had to close by July 2009.
Remaining capacity at landfill sites fell by five per cent during 2008. Overall, since 2000 landfill capacity has decreased by 14 per cent. Inputs through permitted transfer facilities increased by five percent between 2007 and 2008. Inputs through permitted treatment facilities have decreased by two per cent, but there was an increase of around 300,000 tonnes (10 per cent) in the waste through composting plants.
South West
Site Input
During 2008 regulated facilities in the South West managed a total of around over 12 million tonnes of waste, 8% of waste managed in England and Wales. Of this:
-
4.5 million tonnes of waste were disposed of in landfill sites;
-
6.7 million tonnes went to transfer and treatment facilities;
-
1.1 million tonnes were handled by metal recycling sites;
-
43 thousand tonnes were incinerated
Waste sent to landfill has decreased once again, by 18% in 2008, following the national trend. Waste inputs to landfill have fallen across all counties varying from 38% in Somerset to 8% in Gloucestershire. Devon received the most waste inputs to landfill followed by Wiltshire with 19%, 18% in Gloucestershire, 13% in Dorset, 11% in Cornwall, 6% in both Somerset and the West of England Unitaries. These figures are related to the number and capacity of landfills available within each county and will receive waste from inside and outside the county and region.
There is nearly 57 million cubic metres of landfill capacity available in the South West, a 5% increase from that available in 2007. However the increase in capacity is mainly in restricted user landfills. The region had just over seven years of landfill life for non hazardous wastes remaining at the end of 2008, based on 2008 input rates.
Transfer and treatment facilities have increased throughput by 4 and 10% respectively. Permitted incineration facilities handled 43 thousand tonnes in 2008 compared to 64 thousand in 2007, nearly a 50% drop. The South West burnt the least waste of all the English regions in 2008. Metal recycling sites handled 1.1 million tonnes, 28% less than the peak of 1.5 million tonnes handled in 2007. Possibly due in part to the recession and a reduced number of people scrapping old cars for new.
Hazardous Waste
The South West was an overall exporter of hazardous waste in 2008 but has 4 merchant hazardous landfills in the region. The largest hazardous waste stream managed in the region was oil/oil water mixtures.
