Waste projects

Introduction

Historically, the main treatment route for waste in the UK has been landfill, primarily due to the availability of suitable sites created by past mineral extraction. However, since the mid-1990s, use of landfill sites has been changing, as the potential impact of waste management on climate change has become recognised and EU directives and UK legislation have made landfill less attractive. Fewer landfill sites are being opened in the UK, and landfill capacity in the UK is expected to continue to fall in the UK.

The Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) (WFD) sets out a 'waste hierarchy' that applies across the European Union. This hierarchy sets out the order in which waste prevention and management should be prioritised:

1. •

   prevention

2. •

   preparing for re-use

3. •

   recycling

4. •

   other recovery, eg energy recovery, and

5. •

   disposal

Diagrammatically, this is as follows:

Source: With thanks to Waste Aware Business, see Waste Aware.

Following the Brexit implementation period completion day, the WFD no longer applies in the UK. However, the implementing regulations, including the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, SI 2011/988, continue to apply and retain