UK waste management strategy criticised
Effects of Waste Management has been slammed by an environmental
pressure group.
Friends of the Earth (FoE) argues that the report overlooks three vital points, and has called for a tax on incineration to create a level playing field for recycling.
"This report does little to increase confidence in thegovernment's waste strategy," said FoE waste campaigner Anna Watson. "It fails to adequately consider the environmental benefits of recycling, or the wider global environmental impacts of the way we manage our waste, and must not be used as a green light for increased incineration."
The food processing industry is a major contributor to industrial waste. According to the Environment Agency, the UK's food and drink sector produces between seven and eight million tonnes of waste per year, second only to the construction industry and consumes approximately 900 megalitres of water each day, enough to supply almost three-quarters of all customers' needs in London daily. Processors must now abide by amended laws that will see less scope for waste in the industry.
But FoE claims that the government's review fails to look at environmental impacts in three key areas, the first being climate change. FoE believes that report underestimates the climate benefits of increasing recycling.
Recycling processes, it says, were not analysed in the report, so no comparisons could be made with landfill or incineration. Other studies have shown that recycling results in far fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
The second point is that the report did not look at the benefits of avoiding raw material use by recycling. The impact of waste, says FoE, goes far beyond how we throw it away. According to the pressure group, every one tonne of product bought, translates into ten tonnes of materials used to make it.
The third point is that the report only looked at local impacts close to waste management facilities. The UK's reliance on landfill and incineration has global environmental impacts too, says FoE.
Metal mining, for example, causes huge damage in developing countries, destroying biodiversity and using vast amounts of energy and water. Recycling more metal would reduce these impacts.
In addition, incineration and landfill are the waste management options with most potential for negative environmental effects e.g. on soil, air and water quality. Incineration releases more nitrous oxides, hydrogen chloride, dioxins and furans than any other waste option. It is also an important source of particulates.
Action is being taken however, and landfill operations in UK are currently going through something of a revolution. There is a drive to take organic waste out of landfill, largely because 25 per cent of methane emissions - a major factor in global warming - come from landfill.
This change in waste management is having a knock-on effect on the food production industry. Although commercial landfills are not covered, there are now targets in municipal landfills to reduce organic matter. This means there is less space for waste coming from food processing operations.
This is also affecting the packaging industry. There is a growing move away from the use of plastic and towards starch and other biodegradable materials. But with organic matter being taken out of landfill in the UK, both the food processing and packaging industries need to think carefully about waste management. As Martin Brocklehurst, head of waste management at the UK's Environment Agency suggests, these issues need to be linked up.
The Environment Agency is working with food manufacturers across the UK to clarify the legal situation of plants operating in the food and drink industry. Brocklehurst says that the aim of the agency is to provide pragmatic guidance where the laws are not clear.
To aid the agency in achieving this, NetRegs, an information website, has been set up to provide essential reading for all SMEs involved in the processing and preserving of all types of food and drink, from the receipt of raw materials to storage of the final product. The site covers everything from the production, processing and preserving of meat and poultry and the manufacture of dairy products and beverages to fish and shellfish processing and the manufacture of prepared animal feeds.
As well as mandatory requirements, the site offers good practice advice and includes links to other sources of information.
