'99 Update

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Waste

Introduction

The handling and disposal of waste pose major problems in Hertfordshire as they do all over the United Kingdom.

In 1998/99 the total amount of waste produced in Hertfordshire was approximately 1.79 million tonnes of which approximately 476,000 tonnes was household waste. This equates to a 4.5% rise in household waste from the 1997/98 figure of 455,000 tonnes. Waste per person was an average of almost 465 kg; per household it was more than 1135 kg. More than 400,000 tonnes of Hertfordshire's household waste was disposed of outside the county, in Bedfordshire, Essex and North London.

Household waste in 1998/99 accounted for approximately 20% of the total waste stream, which also includes construction and demolition wastes, commercial and industrial wastes.

In 1998/99, 324,337 tonnes of waste was put into domestic dustbins, an increase of 3.4% on 1997/98. 118,502 tonnes was disposed of through the Household Waste Sites, representing 3% growth on the previous year. Over the same period recycling and composting in the county increased by more than 30% to 54,383 tonnes. The reasons for continued higher than average growth in household waste site arisings will almost certainly include economic growth and changes in behaviour as a result of the Landfill tax.

The County Council provides 19 Household Waste Sites in Hertfordshire where residents can dispose of their household waste free of charge, and the Waterdale Transfer Station which helps meet the disposal needs of the Western side of the county. A survey, carried out in 1996, showed that around 43,000 visits are made every week to the county's Household Waste Sites, equating to something like five visits from each household every year, delivering on average 42 kg of waste each time. Almost everybody in Hertfordshire lives within five miles of their local Household Waste Site.

Landfill

Around 82% of the waste produced in Hertfordshire in 1998/99 was disposed of in landfill sites but those sites are running out of space and fewer are being created. In fact, the latest calculations show that, in Hertfordshire, we will run out of landfill space by 2007. There were eighteen active licensed landfill sites in Hertfordshire in 1998, the same number as in 1992.

There is evidence that the Landfill Tax, introduced in October 1996, continues to stimulate growth in household waste generation in both the collected and Household Waste Site streams. This is due to a number of related factors but the increased cost of private skip hire is likely to be one of the more significant.

Indicator 1: Household Waste per Capita

We measure the amount of household waste produced per capita by adding together:

what is collected by the 10 district and borough councils
what is received at the 19 Household Waste Sites
what is taken out of the stream for recycling by the County Council and the district/borough councils,

and dividing by the population.

The comparative statistics for each of the ten Hertfordshire district and borough councils are shown in the graph below:

Household Waste Production per Capita

The 1999 figures for household waste per capita show an overall increase of 4.2% compared to 1998.

Indicator 2: Waste Produced per Household

Another and possibly the best means of monitoring household waste production is to assess the amount of waste per household.

Household Waste Production per Household

The figures for 1998/99 have shown an increase of 3.7% on the previous year.

Indicator 3: Percentage of Waste Recycled

Recycling is important because it has the benefit of reducing the amount of waste requiring disposal.

In 1998/99, more than 11% of the total household waste produced was recycled. The total amount recycled exceeded 54,000 tonnes and there is substantial evidence that the percentage of waste being recycled in Hertfordshire will continue to increase. The graph below shows the individual recycling performance percentages for the Hertfordshire district/borough councils.

Percentage Household Waste Recycled

The graph below gives a year-on-year breakdown of household waste recycling in Hertfordshire, and includes figures for the household waste collected for recycling by the 10 Hertfordshire district/borough councils and various voluntary groups for which the County Council has paid recycling credits. It includes bottle banks, can banks and paper banks etc, but not recycling by businesses and charity shops. The figures for 1998/99 reveal a 30% increase in total recycling from the previous year, which demonstrates the growing effectiveness of local authority recycling activity in Hertfordshire.

Breakdown of Household Waste Recycling

The County Council's recycling rate at the Household Waste Sites rose by more than 30%, largely as a result of the further development of the separate collection of green waste for composting.

The effect of waste minimisation initiatives, such as home composting, are not shown as there is no reliable way of accurately measuring their effect. They are, however, extremely beneficial in reducing the amount of waste needing to be disposed of. The County Council's Home Composting Sponsorship Scheme has encouraged many of the district and borough councils to promote the sale of home composting units, at reduced prices, to their residents, with the result that now more than 8% of the households in Hertfordshire have purchased units.

WasteAware

The third year of the Hertfordshire WasteAware campaign saw further activity aimed at raising awareness of current waste issues with a view to changing behaviour. The County Council and the 10 district/borough councils are working in partnership to promote the waste hierarchy. That is to reduce, reuse, recycle and recover.

The WasteAware campaign includes a wide range of activities to promote these messages.

Future Strategy

The continued growth in household waste and the decline in the availability of landfill facilities in Hertfordshire has highlighted the need for a strategy for dealing with Hertfordshire's waste. The County Council and district and borough councils are committed to combining their efforts and resources to devise and implement an integrated strategy aimed at achieving sustainable waste management for the county. A strategy is likely to be consulted upon and subsequently adopted in 2000.

For further information contact:

Ray Greenall, Hertfordshire County Council Environment Department, 01992 556160