Waste in England: An Introduction

Some 400 million tonnes of waste are produced in the UK each year, a quarter of which is from households, commerce and industry. The remainder is made up of construction and demolition wastes, mining and agricultural wastes, sewage sludge and dredged spoils. Most waste currently ends up in landfill sites, but around 35% of industrial and commercial waste and 12% of household waste is recycled or composted. Under the EU Landfill Directive we must dramatically reduce, over the next 20 years, the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill. Meanwhile, municipal waste has been increasing at some 3 – 4% per annum, slightly above GDP. If municipal waste continues to increase at this rate it will have doubled from the 1995 level by 2020