Waste: England’s fresh look at waste
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010All policies are up for discussion in a wide-ranging waste review started by Defra. An end to landfill, with limited exceptions, is the main priority in England’s waste policy as the Government keeps driving up the cost of bringing rubbish to dumps. Both UK Government parties boasted their green credentials when in opposition, which were followed up by the goal of “zero waste economy” set down in the coalition agreement. Most waste policy is devolved outside England. Landfill tax, though, is levied at the same rate across the UK, currently at £48. George Osborne has authorised...[full story]
Waste: Reviewing waste
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010agendaNi looks to the South where a major review of waste is shaping new policy. Waste is high on the agenda in the Republic, partly due to the Green party leader John Gormley’s involvement in the coalition government. The fact that the Irish tax-payer will have to spend €36 million in repatriating 250,000 tonnes of Irish waste that was illegally dumped on 20 sites in Northern Ireland between 2002 and 2004, through fines, has also brought waste into the spotlight. Illegal dumping occurred when a landfill levy of €15 per tonne was introduced in 2002, prompting an increase in gate...[full story]
Waste: What now after RPA?
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010An update on plans for a single waste authority after the collapse of local government reform. Under Edwin Poots’ reform plans for local government, the new 11 councils were to be served by a single waste disposal authority for the province, but disagreements over its timing led to the proposal being shelved. In brief, waste is collected by councils and disposed of by the three waste management groups, which are voluntary groupings of councils: arc21, the North West Region Waste Management Group and the Southern Waste Management Partnership (also called SWaMP2oo8). These groups are...[full story]
Waste: Europe’s waste controls
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010Northern Ireland has received consent from the European Commission to relax its target for the amount of waste sent to landfill this year. Meadhbh Monahan examines how the Commission creates and implements waste legislation, and the changes being made to Landfill Directive targets. In a bid to avoid hefty waste fines, the target tonnage of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) going to landfill in the region in 2010 has increased from 470,000 tonnes to 919,000 tonnes. The Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) ruled that Northern Ireland had to reduce the amount of BMW sent to landfill to 75...[full story]
Waste: Clearing up waste law – the Waste Bill
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010The Assembly’s Waste Bill gives councils and the DoE equal powers to act against illegal dumpers and strengthens the law on contaminating land, including underground water. The Waste and Contaminated Land (Amendment) Bill is designed to strengthen the law on the subjects mentioned in its title and also bring about a “partnership approach” between the Department of the Environment and local government when tackling illegal waste. As the title indicates, the Bill amends also two existing laws, mostly the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 but also the Producer...[full story]
: Recycling, statistics and public confidence
Monday, December 21st, 2009John Barry explains the importance of getting recycling rates right and surveys some relevant information sources on the topic. And instead of incinerating or exporting material to other countries, it can be better used to develop our own recycling sector. In February 2008, the Chairman of Strabane District Council criticised ratepayers, claiming their reluctance to recycle has lead to spiralling rate bills. Councillor Gerard Foley also revealed the council has had to slow down a number of projects to stop rate bills soaring due to the mounting costs of rubbish disposal. This underlines...[full story]
: A better future in waste
Monday, December 21st, 2009Environment Minister Edwin Poots outlines his preferred way forward on waste to Peter Cheney and explains his confidence that the province will meet its demanding targets and get most of the way to zero waste status. The scale of Northern Ireland’s waste output, alongside the potential financial penalties, automatically explains why it is a high priority for the Environment Minister. “Waste is a priority because we’re producing a million tonnes of [council collected waste] every year and obviously there’s an environmental problem that is created if you don’t manage that correctly,”...[full story]
: Seeing the future of waste
Monday, January 5th, 2009SITA Chief Executive David Palmer-Jones updates Owen McQuade on his plans for the province and the company’s perspective on waste management as an experienced player in the industry. When the privatisation of waste services was under way in England in 1988, local government professional David Palmer- Jones ‘saw the future’ and joined a newly-formed waste management company at its inception. After almost 20 years with SITA, Palmer-Jones became its Chief Executive in the UK this September. Learning from experience and taking a long-term view are important elements for a business in...[full story]
: Dealing with the leftovers
Monday, September 1st, 2008Recycling and waste management company SITA UK has had a presence in Northern Ireland for 10 years, having acquired the United Waste and Wilson Waste companies, and is seeking to expand as local government waste services go out to tender. Its Chief Executive, Per-Anders Hjort, talks business with agendaNi and explains why the word waste is, for him, a non-starter. “It’s quite important to get away from the concept of waste. I don’t think we should talk about waste at all,” Per-Anders Hjort remarks, before adding: “I think it is important that we look at waste and how we deal...[full story]
