Posts tagged ‘Waste’
Waste: Northern Ireland overview
Monday, October 10th, 2011A combination of MBT and energy from waste will be used to manage Northern Ireland’s waste despite a delay in the competitive dialogue process, according to the DoE. agendaNi reports. The region’s three waste management groups: arc21, the North West Region Waste Management Group (NWRWMG) and the Southern Waste Management Partnership (SWaMP) are currently undergoing a competitive dialogue process, used when the contracting authority wishes to award a particularly complex contract. A spokesman from the Department of the Environment has told agendaNi that construction of all the facilities...[full story]
Waste: New delivery programme
Monday, October 10th, 2011agendaNi examines the addendum to the Waste Management Strategy, which outlines a new delivery programme focused on keeping waste out of landfill. The Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy (2006-2020) is under review after the revised Waste Framework Directive (rWFD) was fully transposed in Northern Ireland in April under the Waste Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011. This Directive had set a target to recycle 50 per cent of household waste by 2020 as opposed to the strategy’s original target of 45 per cent. The addendum to the Waste Management Strategy proposes to increase the...[full story]
Waste: Edwin Poots – look before you leap
Friday, January 28th, 2011Waste projects have long-lasting consequences and lessons from the past are worth learning for today, according to Environment Minister Edwin Poots. The cautionary tale of Robert Moses formed the backdrop for Edwin Poots’ address to agendaNi’s waste management seminar. In 1948, the New York planner was acknowledged as a leading conservationist when he decided to deposit municipal waste in the city’s tidal marsh on Staten Island. It became the Fresh Kills Landfill, with a mound eventually growing to 2.9 billion cubic feet in size and leaching an estimated 1 million gallons of toxic...[full story]
Waste: Boosting recycling in Fife
Friday, January 28th, 2011Recycling reached 67 per cent in the trial for Fife Council’s new household recycling system. Chris Ewing updates Peter Cheney on how it works and the importance of practical communication as plans take shape. With around 365,000 residents, Fife has the third largest population of Scotland’s 32 council areas. Chris Ewing, the council’s environmental sustainability manager, has overseen a review of household waste and recycling, which started to roll out new services in September. Most of the area’s waste comes from its 167,000 households. Fife has already seen dramatic progress...[full story]
Waste: Aiming for zero waste
Friday, January 28th, 2011Andy Bond explains May Gurney’s approach to waste management, based on the aim of having no waste. The overall point of waste management is having no waste, according to Andy Bond. May Gurney Environmental Services’ Development Director was speaking at agendaNi’s waste management seminar. The Norwich- based company delivers services for councils in England and Wales. Pointing to Scotland and Wales’ ambitious targets, Andy Bond emphasised that this is a case where more can be delivered for less money, along with the desired environmental outcomes. “There is an absolute correlation...[full story]
Waste: Managing waste on-site
Friday, January 28th, 2011Site waste management plans (SWMPs) are to become a statutory requirement for construction companies carrying out a project worth £300,000 or more. agendaNi considers the proposal. SWMPs are currently voluntary, with an estimated 42 per cent of Northern Ireland’s largest construction companies using them. The amount and type of waste that will be produced on a construction site and how it will be reused, recycled or disposed of must be included in the plan. It must also be updated during the construction process to record how the waste is managed. If there are materials that cannot...[full story]
Waste: Waste management review
Friday, January 28th, 2011The revised waste management planning policy statement should encourage innovation and technology, according to Environment Committee Chair Cathal Boylan. Meadhbh Monahan reports. A review of Planning Policy Statement 11 (PPS11), which covers the development of waste management facilities, is currently underway. In November, Edwin Poots said: “The existing policy is out of date. We need to take account of recent changes to European legislation such as the new revised Waste Framework Directive. I am also honouring a commitment given in the 2006 Waste Management Strategy to work towards...[full story]
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]
