Landfill Bans Could Save Money And The Environment, Says New Report
Restricting or banning some types of rubbish from landfill could deliver significant benefits to the UK – saving as much as £8.25 billion and 189 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2024.
This is the conclusion of new research carried out by WRAP on behalf of the UK’s Governments, including the Scottish Government’s Zero Waste Scotland programme. It demonstrates that provided rubbish can be pre-sorted, banning or restricting some rubbish from landfill could make both financial and environmental sense.
The research, Landfill Bans: Feasibility Research, shows that to realise the full benefits, the UK would need to increase prior sorting of materials so that recycling rates and quality could be sufficiently improved. The report estimates this could take between 4 and 7 years to bring to effect.
But the research also reveals that such a move should ultimately reduce costs for the taxpayer because recycling will cost less than sending all this waste to landfill - if the right materials are targeted and the system operates effectively.
The report includes a detailed review of all available literature on the subject as well as an examination of how bans and restrictions on sending rubbish to landfill work in other countries. It looks at examples in Europe and the US, including Flanders and Massachusetts, to assess whether other approaches might work in the UK.
It also examines the environmental and financial costs of landfilling compared to other methods, including recycling or composting a range of materials. In-depth discussions were held with a range of stakeholders to look at how this would work in practice.
Iain Gulland, Director of Zero Waste Scotland, said:
“This piece of research shows that we could make some significant financial and environmental savings if we stopped sending certain types of rubbish to landfill.
“However, in order to make this successful, we will need to increase our sorting infrastructure and introduce the change over a suitable time period to ensure it happens smoothly and effectively.”
The materials identified as offering the best potential for greenhouse gas savings were (in order of priority): Paper/card; Food; Textiles; Metals; Wood and Green waste.
This is the conclusion of new research carried out by WRAP on behalf of the UK’s Governments, including the Scottish Government’s Zero Waste Scotland programme. It demonstrates that provided rubbish can be pre-sorted, banning or restricting some rubbish from landfill could make both financial and environmental sense.
The research, Landfill Bans: Feasibility Research, shows that to realise the full benefits, the UK would need to increase prior sorting of materials so that recycling rates and quality could be sufficiently improved. The report estimates this could take between 4 and 7 years to bring to effect.
But the research also reveals that such a move should ultimately reduce costs for the taxpayer because recycling will cost less than sending all this waste to landfill - if the right materials are targeted and the system operates effectively.
The report includes a detailed review of all available literature on the subject as well as an examination of how bans and restrictions on sending rubbish to landfill work in other countries. It looks at examples in Europe and the US, including Flanders and Massachusetts, to assess whether other approaches might work in the UK.
It also examines the environmental and financial costs of landfilling compared to other methods, including recycling or composting a range of materials. In-depth discussions were held with a range of stakeholders to look at how this would work in practice.
Iain Gulland, Director of Zero Waste Scotland, said:
“This piece of research shows that we could make some significant financial and environmental savings if we stopped sending certain types of rubbish to landfill.
“However, in order to make this successful, we will need to increase our sorting infrastructure and introduce the change over a suitable time period to ensure it happens smoothly and effectively.”
The materials identified as offering the best potential for greenhouse gas savings were (in order of priority): Paper/card; Food; Textiles; Metals; Wood and Green waste.
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