Evaluating Waste Management in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has made significant progress in waste management, with a focus on recycling and reusing materials to reduce landfill waste and emissions. The country has developed a comprehensive waste management strategy, which includes composting, recycling, and energy-from-waste facilities. The most economically viable form of waste management is recycling and reuse, with a low gate fee of £9 per tonne of waste. The report highlights the importance of understanding waste composition and best available treatment options for setting up operations in the UK.

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Business report on Waste Management in the United Kingdom
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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................................4
Background....................................................................................................................................................4
A. Environmental issues associated with the commercial waste...............................................................5
B. Performance of UK’s waste management.............................................................................................6
Indicators................................................................................................................................................7
C. The economics of Waste management..................................................................................................9
D. Final Verdict.........................................................................................................................................9

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ABC Enterprises
Analysis report
Introduction
The report discusses the discussion of the company to start our operations in the United
Kingdom for the very first time and produces the various aspects associated with the relevant
environmental issues and on the fact whether UK is a good option of starting the new operation.
This report primarily focuses on the waste management sector in the United Kingdom. The
report will focus on the following criteria:
1. The environmental implications of the poor waste management;
2. The historical performance on waste management on the basis of various indicators;
3. The economy required for taking the initiatives towards the waste management in the country
and would that be feasible as per our demands and expenditure limit.
4. Final Verdict
Background
Waste management has been considered as a complex area technically, legally and even
commercially. Only a few numbers of organizations are seen to rely on the waste collection
services that are being provided through the local authorities. Therefore it is important for the
firms to contract a reliable, reputed and licensed company for disposing the waste off and for
discharging the legal obligations.

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The cost waste does not merely account for the cost associated with the discarded materials but it
also encompasses the various issues like the unnecessary use of water and energy, inefficient use
of the raw materials, faulty products, waste treatment, waste disposal of by-products and wasted
labour (Tchobanoglous, G., Theisen, H., & Vigil, S., 1993). In the year of 2004, it was reported
that the United Kingdom produced over 335 million tonnes of waste which included a 220
million tonnes of controlled households’ wastes and the waste from the commerce and industry
(which also included the construction and the demolition wastes).
A. Environmental issues associated with the commercial waste
Because of the lax governmental regulation on the industries, the products that are being used are
seen to be thrown away and have been seen to have a dangerous and health-affecting impact on
the people (Canter, L. W., Canter, L. W., Canter, L. W., & Canter, L. W., 1977). It was reported
that thousands of the untested chemicals are seen to pervade the consumer products in their
homes and offices. The chemicals wholes health implications are very well-known for example
Biphenyl-A (BPA), which is found in plastics like toys etc. is seen to be regulated in a poor
manner. One of the largest and the most rapidly growing category is found to be in the packaging
of the solid waste. It is seen that around 30 percent of the municipal solid waste is packaging and
around 40 percent is the plastic.
Further, the mismanagement of the solid waste was also seen to affect the overall productivity of
the country along with tarnishing the other infrastructures. The major issues that are seen to be
associated with the inefficient waste management in the United Kingdom include the overall
environment pollution ranging from air, water and even soil due to emission of greenhouse
gases, spread of harmful diseases, and is accountable for various chemical, physical, explosion
and fire hazards. The examples of the chemical and the physical hazards were seen to include the

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danger of being in contact with the sharp and infected sharp objects which are exposed to the
toxic solutions and chemicals, fire hazards and the risks of the explosion (Wilson, D. C., 2007).
The country has been disposing a large amount of waste owning to the huge environment
impacts and has led to serious environmental implications. The country has been burying the
waste in the landfill sites by disposing the waste in the holes in the ground, dug and even the
ground. The process is seen to be deadly as the waste is seen not to rot entirely and even leads to
smell and generation of the methane gas which is highly explosive in nature and contributes
directly to the greenhouse effect. Further the liquid is seen to be formed as the water trickles
through such contaminated areas which is termed as leachate and is highly poisonous in nature
leading to the formation of the harmful substances which end up entering the surface water, soil
and the groundwater. In the case of badly-managed landfill sites might seen to cause litters and
attract vermin (Pohland, F. G., & Kim, J. C., 1999).
Most of the UK companies are seen to be engaged in the incineration of the waste which causes
issues related to the production of the toxic substances like dioxins on burning. These gases lead
to contribute to the acid rain and even cause air pollution. Further the ash coming from the
incinerators is seen to contain other toxins and heavy metals (The Problems with Waste, 2017)
B. Performance of UK’s waste management
The whole process of waste policy has been developed properly in the United Kingdom. The
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have developed administrations which are solely
responsible for the policy and strategies related to the waste management in such areas and
regions. Although there are some differences in the policy measures but the priority of the nation
towards the waste is seen to be consistent towards aiming an action towards the waste hierarchy

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therefore has been able to make a complete transition from the landfill of waste towards the re-
use, prevention and for recovery of energy along with the reduction of the GHG emissions being
taking place of the waste management. From the successive waste strategies it was seen that the
UK has been ambitious towards the purpose of recycling of municipal and household waste
along with diverting the waste from the landfills. Since the year of 2004, the generation of the
solid waste has decreased from 36.1 million tonnes in 2004 steadily to 32.4 million tonnes in
2010 (Eurostat, 2012).
Indicators
The figure given below will provide an idea on the development in solid waste management per
capita in the United Kingdom from the period of 2001 to 2010. From the graph it is evident that
the country has been following a stable period in the generation of the waste management from
the starting of the targeted decade however, it fell after 2004 and lastly by 2010, it was clear that
it had fallen to 521 kg/capita. This term was found to be 14 percent lower than the 2004 peak at
just 600 kg/capita. Over the years, the waste management changed significantly and in 2009, the
majority of the waste produced was seen to end in the landfill. But again, the share of land filled
also reduced during the first decade from 80 percent in 2001 to a low percentage of 49 in 2010. It
was this period, when the United Kingdom started focusing on the recycling of material.

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As per the figures that were published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
(Defra) of the United Kingdom, the country produced about 31 million tonnes of Municipal
Solid Waste (MSW) in the year of 2012. The major amount of the solid waste was from the
residential, commercial and market wastes and was about 13.1 percent lesser as compared from
the year of 2002.
From the prediction made by the generation of the solid waste it is expected that there will be a
considerable decrease in the solid waste from 32.3 million tonnes in 2010 to an expected of
around 29.5 million tonnes in 2030. On analyzing the average composition and the calorific
value of the solid waste produced in the United Kingdom, it was estimated to be around 12MJ/kg
which corresponds to around 3.3 MW per tonne of waste per hour. From all the waste, the plastic
was seen to have the highest calorific value which contributed to 8.8 percent of the total calorific
value whereas the highest percentage of the total composition of the United Kingdom was
represented by the cardboard and the waste paper.

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In the recent years in the United kingdom, the combination of composting and recycling has been
used widely and is among the largest means of managing the waste products which accounted for
around 26.7 percent and 15.4 percent respectively of the overall waste generated in the country.
Out of the total waste produced in the country, a total of 73 percent of the composted waste in
the United Kingdom is seen to be treated in the open air windows but around 40.3 percent of the
waste is still sent to the landfill creating the environmental issues discussed in the above section
of the report and only 16 percent of the waste is combusted to the energy facilities thereby
recovering around 1600 GWh of the electricity on the annual basis (Themelis, N., & Bourtsalas,
A., 2013)..
C. The economics of Waste management
In the year of 2012, the gate fee for the purpose of the land filling was seen to be ranging
between £73 and £127 per tonne, and £85 per tonn was the median fee that was paid by the local
authorities. Contrastingly, in case of the open air window compositing sites, the cost was around
£24 per tonne. And the in-vessel composting and the anaerobic digestions plants charged around
£43 per tonne.
Further, the gate fee that was paid by the local authorities for the purpose of the waste at the
energy plant was seen to be ranging around £54 per tonne and £73 per tonne respectively for the
facilities present prior to 2000 and the plants that were built after 2000. From this report, it is
clear that the most economically viable form of the waste management present in the United
Kingdom other than the purpose of prevention is the recycling and reuse of the material which
has a low gate fee of around £9 per tonne of waste (Themelis, N., & Bourtsalas, A., 2013).

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D. Final Verdict
From the thorough analysis of the waste management process being going on in the United
Kingdom, it was seen that the process of recycling, waste to the energy and composting go hand
in hand striving for the sustainable waste management. Therefore, we as a new company can
proceed our operations in the United Kingdom as well however for that we need to assess the
best alternatives suitable for our operations. This report gave a precise understanding on the
composition of the solid waste along with the economic factors associated with it.
According to our study, it was seen that as the country has been striving to achieve its obligations
under the Landfill Directive, it has turned to plethora of the alternative disposal options available
for it including the composting, recycling, use of thermal treatment facilities and anaerobic
digestion etc. The country has also increased all their practices associated with the sustainable
waste management over the years and has been emphasizing on recycling and composting.
Hence, as the Board Member of ABC Enterprise with the responsibility for Environmental
issues, I would suggest that the United Kingdom with its developing sustainable waste
management practices and strategies, is an apt country for set up of our operations. Therefore, in
order to start our operations in the United Kingdom, we need to understand the waste
composition and the best available facility for treating the waste. From our study it is clear that
the country has been attentive towards recycling the solid waste along with processing to their
energy facilities and has reduced the practice of land filling and is climbing the ladder towards
the sustainable waste management.

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References
Tchobanoglous, G., Theisen, H., & Vigil, S. (1993). Integrated solid waste management:
engineering principles and management issues. McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math.
Canter, L. W., Canter, L. W., Canter, L. W., & Canter, L. W. (1977). Environmental impact
assessment (p. 27). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Wilson, D. C. (2007). Development drivers for waste management. Waste Management &
Research, 25(3), 198-207.
Pohland, F. G., & Kim, J. C. (1999). In situ anaerobic treatment of leachate in landfill
bioreactors. Water Science and Technology, 40(8), 203-210.
Eurostat, 2012: Waste database municipal waste
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/waste/data/database Accessed May 2012
Eurostat regional data, 2012: Generation and treatment of municipal waste (1 000 t) by NUTS 2
regions http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/search_database
The Problems with Waste | Toxics Action Center. (2017). Toxicsaction.org. Retrieved 11 April
2017, from http://www.toxicsaction.org/problems-and-solutions/waste
Themelis, N., & Bourtsalas, A. (2013). UK Waste Management: Growing old or Growing
Clean?. Waste-management-world.com. Retrieved 11 April 2017, from https://waste-
management-world.com/a/uk-waste-management-growing-old-or-growing-clean