BARNSLEY, DONCASTER AND ROTHERHAM JOINT WASTE PLAN TOPIC PAPER: EVIDENCE BASE

Transcription

1 BARNSLEY, DONCASTER AND ROTHERHAM JOINT WASTE PLAN TOPIC PAPER: EVIDENCE BASE Prepared for Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Councils by Land Use Consultants June Chalton Street London NW1 1JD Tel: Fax:

2 CONTENTS 1. Introduction... 1 Scope of the Joint Waste Plan...1 Structure of this Topic Paper Waste Policy Context... 5 European Directives...5 National Policy on sustainable development and waste...7 Regional Planning Policy...10 Local policy...12 Sustainable waste management Current and Future waste arisings in BDR Statutory targets Current Waste Management capacity in BDR Limitations of estimating current capacity...39 Current licensed capacity...42 Current throughput in licensed facilities...43 Imports and Exports of waste in BDR Future Waste Management capacity Requirements in BDR Recycling and composting requirements...48 Recovery/treatment requirements...49 Landfill requirements...52 How much land will be needed?...54 Appendix List of BDR waste management facilities used to estimate current Licensed Capacity...57 Appendix List of BDR waste management facilities used to estimate current throughput...62 i

3 TABLES Table 2.1 Summary of priorities relevant to the Joint Waste Plan in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham s Municipal Waste Management Strategy, Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement targets and how the Joint Waste Plan will help to implement the priorities...17 Table 3.1: Municipal waste forecast growth from Yorkshire and Humber Plan (thousand tonnes per year)...22 Table 3.2: Municipal waste forecast growth based on Yorkshire and Humber Plan predicted housing growth plus additional housing due to growth point status (thousand tonnes per year)...23 Table 3.3: Commercial and industrial waste forecast growth (thousand tonnes per year)...24 Table 3.4: Hazardous waste production by sub-region Table 3.5: Hazardous waste production in South Yorkshire sub-region Table 3.6: Recycling, composting and recovery targets for municipal waste from Waste Strategy for England Table 3.7: Municipal waste forecast growth and management methods required to meet statutory targets (thousand tonnes per year)...32 Table 3.8 Municipal waste forecast growth and management methods required to exceed statutory targets (thousand tonnes per year)...33 Table 3.9: BDR s biodegradable municipal waste allocation under the WET Act 2003 and LATS (thousand tonnes per year)34 Table 3.10: BDR s assumed total municipal waste allocation a under the WET Act 2003 and LATS (thousand tonnes per year)...34 Table 3.11: Current rates of landfilling and consequent recycling and recovery rates for commercial and industrial, construction, demolition and excavation and hazardous wastes from Yorkshire and Humber Plan...35 Table 3.12: Commercial and industrial waste forecast growth and management methods required to maintain current rates of recycling, recovery and landfill (thousand tonnes per year)...36 Table 3.13: Commercial and industrial waste forecast growth and management methods required to exceed current rates of recycling and recovery and decrease landfillling rates (thousand tonnes per year)...37 Table 3.14 Construction, excavation and demolition waste forecast growth in South Yorkshire and landfill capacity required to maintain current rates (thousand tonnes per year)...37 Table 3.15: Hazardous waste forecast growth in South Yorkshire and capacity required to maintain current rates of management (thousand tonnes per year)...38 Table 4.1: Environment Agency Operator and Pollution Risk Appraisal code classification of waste facilities in BDR and corresponding waste management process category...41 Table 4.2: Licensed capacity in currently operating waste management facilities in BDR...42 Table 4.3 Actual waste throughput in operating waste management facilities in BDR in 2007 (tonnes)...43 Table 4.4: Current recycling, composting and treatment capacity for different waste streams in BDR...45 Table 5.1: Future municipal waste recycling and composting capacity required in BDR taking into account current capacity (thousand tonnes per year)...49 Table 5.2: Future municipal waste recovery or treatment capacity required in BDR taking into account current capacity (thousand tonnes per year)...50 Table 5.3: Future commercial and industrial waste recycling, treatment and recovery capacity required in BDR, taking into account current capacity (thousand tonnes per year)...51 Table 5.4: Future recycling, treatment and recovery capacity required for municipal, commercial and industrial waste in BDR, taking into account current capacity (thousand tonnes per year)...51 Table 5.5: Municipal solid waste and commercial and industrial waste landfill capacity remaining for BDR (thousand tonnes per year)...52 Table 5.6: Inert waste landfill capacity remaining for BDR (thousand tonnes per year)...53 Table 5.7: Capacity and land requirements for generic waste management facilities...54 Table 5.8: Municipal waste recycling capacity that could be provided through the proposed new sites for allocation under policy WCS3 of the Joint Waste Plan...56 Table 5.9: Commercial and industrial waste recycling, treatment or recovery capacity that could be provided through the proposed new sites for allocation under policy WCS3 of the Joint Waste Plan...56 ii

4 FIGURES Figure 2.1: The waste hierarchy... 5 Figure 3.1: Proportion of all waste streams produced in BDR in Figure 4.1: Licensed capacity (2008) versus actual waste throughput in operating waste management facilities in BDR in 2007 (tonnes)...44 iii

5 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. In recent years, international and national legislation and policy have recognised the need to develop more sustainable waste management practices, which will involve more minimisation, re-use, recycling and treatment methods that extract value from wastes (e.g. glass reprocessing or energy recovery) and send less waste to landfill The planning system has a key role to play in delivering more sustainable waste management by providing the spatial framework through which to identify and plan for appropriate waste management facilities As unitary authorities, Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Councils (collectively referred to in this report as BDR ) are required to plan for the appropriate provision of waste management facilities to meet future requirements in their boroughs. In order to achieve this, the three councils are working together to prepare a detailed plan to manage waste across the three boroughs, known as the Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham Joint Waste Plan The Joint Waste Plan is a Development Plan Document and once adopted it will form part of each borough s Local Development Framework. Further information on the timetable and programme for the preparation of each borough s LDF can be found from: Barnsley: Doncaster: Rotherham: This plan must be based on sound evidence, including an understanding of the amount of waste generated within the area and how this might be expected to grow, or decline, over time. This topic paper describes in more detail the amount of different waste types and future waste management capacity requirements that BDR need to take into account in the Joint Waste Plan. It also describes the relevant European/national legislation and national, regional and local policy context relating to waste management and requirements the plan needs to meet. SCOPE OF THE JOINT WASTE PLAN 1.4. The Joint Waste Plan must be prepared to be relevant to controlled 2 and non-controlled waste streams, including the following. 1 This document was previously called the Joint Strategic Waste Development Plan Document during earlier rounds of consultation. Following the recommendations of the Planning Inspectorate and the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber, the Joint Waste Plan is now being put forward as a free standing waste core strategy as part of each borough s LDF because it sets out the strategic approach to managing waste across the plan area. 2 Controlled wastes are defined under the Environmental Protection Act and include household, commercial and industrial waste, and are subject to the provisions of the Control of Pollution Act. 1

6 Municipal solid waste waste which is collected by local authorities. It is mainly composed of household waste but also includes street sweepings, waste from reuse and recycling centres as well as local authority collected commercial and industrial waste, it does not include domestic sewage and waste water; Commercial and industrial waste commercial waste is waste from premises used wholly or mainly for the purposes of a trade or business or for the purpose of sport, recreation, education or entertainment but not including household, agricultural or industrial waste. Industrial waste is waste arising from the provision of public services and industrial activities, but excluding construction and demolition material; Construction and demolition waste waste which is comprised of waste building materials, packaging and rubble resulting from construction and remodelling, repair and demolition operations on roads, houses, commercial buildings and other structures; Hazardous waste waste which, because of its characteristics, poses a present or potential hazard to human health or the environment; Low level radioactive waste waste with a low level of radioactivity. Levels are defined by the amount of radioactivity per unit mass or volume. The majority of low level radioactive waste arises from the decommissioning and clean-up of nuclear sites, which creates large amounts of lightly contaminated soil and building rubble. The Environment Agency regulates the disposal of all radioactive waste, including low level, under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993, and in so doing ensures that disposal of these wastes is safe for people and will not harm the environment. Agricultural waste waste which is produced by the agricultural industry and includes organic matter such as manure, slurry, silage effluent, animal treatment dips (for example sheep dip) and crop residues, as well as a wide range of materials such as discarded pesticide containers, plastics such as silage wrap, bags and sheets, waste packaging, tyres, batteries, clinical waste, old machinery and oil etc. Wastes from mines or quarries (or mineral wastes) are the residues, tailings or other non-valuable material produced after the extraction and processing of material to form mineral products. Mine and quarry waste includes materials such as overburden, rock interbedded with the mineral, and residues left over from initial processing of the extracted material into saleable products. Mine and quarry waste is usually either tipped locally, used for infilling prior to restoration of land or re-used; and The Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 makes it a criminal offence for a person who is not a registered carrier to transport controlled waste to or from any place in Great Britain. Components of other waste streams such as agricultural waste have more recently been included in the definition of controlled waste. 2

7 Sewage sludge is the dry solid by-product of the sewage treatment process; and Residual waste refers to materials that are left over after recycling andcomposting targets have been met which requires recovery or disposal National waste policy set out in Planning Policy Statement 10 3 requires a DPD to set out policies and proposals for managing waste that ensure sufficient opportunities are available for the provision of waste management facilities in appropriate locations, including for waste disposal, for a period of at least 10 years after adoption of the DPD. Planning Policy Statement 12 4 (which was published after PPS10) requires a DPD to cover at least 15 years from the date of adoption, thus BDR will need to make provision for waste management facilities to cover at least 15 years from adoption. The Yorkshire and Humber Plan sets out how much waste needs to be managed within each borough (BDR) and other authorities in the region (up to 2021) in order to meet international and national targets for recycling and recovery and reduce the amount of waste landfilled 5. However, the Joint Waste Plan will cover the period from 2010 to 2026, thus the capacity requirements have been forecast up to While the Government s recently announced commitment to abolish Regional Strategies (28 May 2010) is a material consideration for decision makers, the regional strategies will continue to be treated as part of the development plan until they are formally abolished and any transitional arrangements put in place 6. STRUCTURE OF THIS TOPIC PAPER 1.6. The structure of this report is as follows. Chapter 2 provides the background European, national and regional legislative and policy context for spatial planning for waste in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham. This section sets out the relevant national statutory and proposed targets for meeting European directives on waste, and how the Joint Waste Plan fits in with the BDR Private Finance Initiative (PFI). It also describes the current picture on potential benefits and issues associated with planning for the provision of sustainable waste management facilities. Chapter 3 describes how much waste is currently produced in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham and how much might be expected to arise up to Chapter 4 sets out how much waste management capacity currently exists within Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham, 3 Planning Policy Statement 10: Planning for Sustainable Waste Management (ODPM, July 2005). 4 Planning Policy Statement 12: Local Development Frameworks (CLG, July 2008). 5 Yorkshire and Humber Plan Regional Spatial Strategy to 2026 (Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber, May 2008)

8 Chapter 5 compares the current capacity with the amount of waste that will need to be managed to 2026, and estimates how much land will be needed to accommodate the additional waste management capacity. 4

9 2. WASTE POLICY CONTEXT EUROPEAN DIRECTIVES Waste Framework Directive 2.1. The principal European legislation relating to waste management is the Waste Framework Directive, which specifies a hierarchy of waste management options (see figure 2.1 below) and seeks to prevent the generation of waste in the first instance as well as reduce its harmfulness. The new Waste Framework Directive 7 - which will have effect from 12 th December 2010 (some minor amendments apply from 12 th December 2008) - will replace the existing Waste Framework Directive 8, the Hazardous Waste Directive 9 and the Waste Oils Directive 10, and update the EU law on waste generally. Figure 2.1: The waste hierarchy Waste prevention Preparing for re-use Recycling Recovery Disposal The most effective environmental solution is to reduce the generation of waste PREVENTION. Products and materials can sometimes be used again, for the same or a different purpose RE-USE. PREPARING FOR RE-USE means checking, cleaning or repairing products that have become waste so that they can be re-used again without any pre-processing. Resources (including organic material) can often be recovered from waste RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING. Value can also be recovered by generating energy from waste ENERGY RECOVERY Only if none of the above offer an appropriate solution should waste be DISPOSED i.e. landfilled The primary objective of the Waste Framework Directive is to manage waste as near to the top of the hierarchy as possible i.e. reduce the use of landfill. When applying this waste hierarchy, member states must take measures to 7 Directive 2008/98/EC. 8 Directive 2006/12/EC 9 Directive 91/689/EEC. 10 Directive 75/439/EEC. 5

10 encourage the options that deliver the best overall environmental outcome. Specific waste streams may depart from the hierarchy above where life-cycle thinking on the overall impacts of the generation and management of waste justifies it The Joint Waste Plan addresses the requirements of the Waste Framework Directive by proposing to safeguard existing strategic sites which contribute to recycling and composting in BDR (policy WCS2), and to allocate new strategic sites (policy WCS3), large enough to accommodate new facilities to recycle and recover waste and reduce the amount that is sent to landfill over the plan period. Landfill Directive 2.4. The key aim of the Landfill Directive is reduce waste disposal to landfill and encourage other waste management methods higher up the waste hierarchy. It includes landfill diversion targets to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste that may be landfilled. 11 By 2010: reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 75% of that produced in By 2013: reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 50% of that produced in By 2020: reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 35% of that produced in To ensure that the UK will meet these targets, the government has set biodegradable municipal waste disposal allowances for each waste disposal authority. These are controlled by provisions made under the Waste and Emissions Trading Act discussed below The Landfill Directive has also brought other changes in waste management including a ban on landfill of liquid wastes, infectious clinical wastes and certain hazardous wastes; a complete ban on the landfill of tyres by 2006; the requirement for separate landfills for hazardous, non-hazardous and inert wastes; the introduction of a requirement for treatment of waste prior to landfill; and the establishment of acceptance criteria for waste arriving at sites. 11 The Landfill Directive defines biodegradable municipal waste as that which is capable of undergoing anaerobic or aerobic digestion, such as food and garden waste, paper and cardboard. 6

11 2.7. Policies WCS2, 3 and 4 in the Joint Waste Plan help to address the requirements of the Landfill Directive by ensuring the continued operation, expansion and redevelopment of existing recycling, composting and treatment facilities and facilitating the provision of sites for new facilities that will divert waste from landfill. While landfill rates should reduce over the plan period, there will still be some residual waste remaining after recycling, composting and recovery targets have been met, and policy WCS5 safeguards the existing landfill capacity within BDR to accommodate that declining amount of residual waste. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive and End of Life Vehicles Directive 2.8. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive aims to reduce the impact of waste electrical and electronic equipment. The Directive requires producers of the equipment to provide for separately collected waste electrical and electronic equipment with targets for recovery, reuse and recycling. The End of Life Vehicles Directive (ELV) also requires operators (i.e. producers, dismantlers and shredders among others) to establish adequate systems for the collection of end of life vehicles, and sets reuse, recycling and recovery targets Policies WCS2, 3, 4 and 5 in the Joint Waste Plan help to address the requirements of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and End of Life Vehicles Directive by ensuring the continued operation, expansion and redevelopment of existing recycling, treatment and landfill facilities and facilitating the provision of sites for new facilities that will manage some elements of these waste streams. Policy WCS7 also seeks to maximise on-site sorting, treatment and reprocessing of waste during demolition and construction of all types of development, which should help to reuse, recover and recycle more waste electrical and electronic equipment. NATIONAL POLICY ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WASTE UK Sustainable Development Strategy Underpinning the entire approach to the management of waste are the principles of sustainable development. These are set out in the UK Strategy for Sustainable Development 12. The five elements of sustainable development are: promoting good governance; living within environmental limits; 12 Securing the Future, the UK Strategy for Sustainable Development (HM Government, March 2005). 7

12 using sound science responsibly; achieving a sustainable economy; and ensuring a strong, healthy and just society In this context there is a particular need to integrate planning for sustainable waste management with other land use concerns and areas of particular importance highlighted in the companion guide to PPS10 13 include: the need for waste management to be integrated with other spatial concerns in the preparation of the LDF (such as housing, employment, retail); consideration of climate change; opportunities for waste management in new development; and interaction with municipal waste management strategies While it may be difficult to prioritise waste management requirements over the housing, employment, recreation needs of the borough, for example, there may be opportunities to create synergies and achieve more sustainable development through the construction and operation of new waste facilities. A need to service these facilities should generate activity in the local economy, and the facilities would generate feedstock for reprocessing facilities or energy which could be used by existing development. This in turn would provide sustainability benefits, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, associated with reduced transport distances The Joint Waste Plan promotes and seeks to help achieve sustainable development in relation to waste management. National Waste Legislation Waste Strategy for England The Waste Strategy for England builds on the earlier waste strategy (published in 2000) and translates the principles of the European Waste Framework Directive and Landfill Directive into UK law. The Waste Strategy for England aims to: decouple waste growth from economic growth and put more emphasis on waste prevention and re-use; meet and exceed the Landfill Directive diversion targets for biodegradable municipal waste in 2010, 2013 and 2020; increase diversion from landfill of non-municipal waste and secure better integration of treatment for municipal and non-municipal waste; 13 Planning for Sustainable Waste Management Companion Guide to PPS10 (DCLG, 2006). 14 Waste Strategy for England 2007 (DEFRA, May 2007). 8

13 secure the investment in infrastructure needed to divert waste from landfill and for the management of hazardous waste; and get the most environmental benefit from that investment, through increased recycling of resources and recovery of energy from residual waste using a mix of technologies This strategy sets higher national targets than the 2000 version for recycling and composting of household waste. By 2010: recycle and compost at least 40% of household waste, and recover value from 53% of municipal waste (through recycling, composting, other forms of material recovery or energy recovery via waste combustion). By 2015: recycle and compost at least 45% of household waste, and recover value from 67% of municipal waste. By 2020: recycle and compost at least 50% of household waste, and recover value from 75% of municipal waste The Joint Waste Plan addresses the requirements of the government s waste strategy by proposing to safeguard existing strategic sites which contribute to recycling and composting in BDR (policy WCS2), and to allocate new strategic sites (policy WCS3), large enough to accommodate the new waste facilities required to meet the national recycling and recovery targets and reduce the amount that is sent to landfill over the plan period. Waste and Emissions Trading Act and Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme The Waste and Emissions Trading (WET) Act 2003 is a key piece of national legislation that is also a driver in reducing the reliance on landfill for waste management. It rations the amount of biodegradable municipal waste that each waste disposal authority may dispose of to landfill by a system of tradable allowances the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS). Each waste disposal authority is able to determine how to use its allocation of allowances in the most effective way. It is able to trade allowances with other authorities, save them for future years or use some of its future allowances in advance The key driver to this legislation is that councils will be fined for each tonne of waste landfilled in excess of their allowance set by the government. This sets a particular challenge for authorities, including Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham, where waste management has been heavily reliant on disposal to landfill. Each borough has been given an annual tonnage allowance (Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme allowance) for the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (biodegradable municipal waste) that it can dispose of to landfill, which is lower than the total annual tonnage of biodegradable municipal waste produced in the borough and decreases year on year Policies WCS2, 3, 4 and 5 should help BDR to safeguard and provide new facilities to meet recycling and recovery targets as well 9

14 as the declining amount of biodegradable municipal waste able to be landfilled over the plan period. National Planning Policy Planning Policy Statement 10: Planning for Sustainable Waste Management (PPS10) establishes key planning objectives through which planning authorities should prepare and deliver their planning strategies. PPS10 recognises that positive planning has an important role in delivering sustainable waste management through: developing appropriate strategies for growth, regeneration and the prudent use of resources; and providing sufficient opportunities for new waste management facilities of the right type, in the right place and at the right time PPS10 reflects many of the principles of the Waste Framework Directive and encourages waste planning authorities to identify suitable site opportunities for waste management facilities. It notes that regional spatial strategies (for BDR this is the Yorkshire and Humber Plan, adopted in 2008) should provide a strategic framework for the preparation of local development plan documents by identifying the waste management facilities required to satisfy any identified need and their distribution across the region. PPS10 advises that there should be no need to reopen consideration of either its principles or the annual rates of waste to be managed As shown in the chapters 3-5 of this topic paper, the Joint Waste Plan is based on the capacity required to meet the annual rates of municipal, commercial and industrial waste to be managed in BDR as set out in the Yorkshire and Humber Plan. Policies WCS2, 3 and 5 specifically address provision of sufficient facilities to meet the required capacity. REGIONAL PLANNING POLICY The Yorkshire and Humber Plan (May 2008) The Yorkshire and Humber Plan sets out policies in relation to the development of land and aims to guide development within the region over the next 15 to 20 years. It does not make site-specific allocations of land for development, but rather identifies broad locations. The plan also embodies the Regional Transport Strategy This topic paper takes account of the Yorkshire and Humber Plan s analysis of quantities of waste to be managed and, in particular, the three policies relating to waste: policies ENV12, ENV13 and ENV Policy ENV12: Regional Waste Management Objectives sets out a number of regional waste management objectives: 10

15 A. Plans, strategies, investment decisions and programmes should aim to reduce, reuse, recycle and recover as much waste as possible. B. Local authorities should work with regional partners, including commerce, the Environment Agency, the waste industry, Recycling Action Yorkshire and community groups to ensure the integration of strategies and proposals for sustainable waste management. C. Local authorities should support the urgent provision of a combination of facilities and other waste management initiatives which best meets environmental, social and economic needs for their areas based on the following principles: 1. moving the management of all waste streams up the waste hierarchy; 2. achieving all statutory waste management performance targets during the plan period; and 3. managing waste at the nearest appropriate location, where necessary by seeking agreement with neighbouring authorities Policy ENV13: Provision of Waste Management and Treatment Facilities states that waste planning authorities should ensure that adequate sites and facilities are available to manage the quantities of municipal, commercial and industrial, construction and demolition, agricultural and hazardous waste estimated to be produced. This policy makes reference to table 10.4 of the Yorkshire and Humber Plan, which sets out the additional waste capacity required to manage municipal, commercial and industrial waste produced in each sub region; tables 10.5 and 10.6, which outline current and forecasted waste arisings for the region (municipal solid waste, and commercial and industrial waste); table 10.7, which outlines current capacity for the management of this waste; and table 10.8, which outlines the management capacity shortfall. The policy states that capacity of treatment and recovery facilities (including recycling and energy from waste) to deal with municipal and commercial and industrial will need to double by 2020 in all sub regions Policy ENV14: Strategic Locational Criteria for Waste Management Facilities sets out principles which should be considered when designating specific sites or areas. In addition to other criteria, this policy, states that if it is not possible to manage waste on the site where it arises, it should be treated at the nearest appropriate location The vision, aims and policies in the Joint Waste Plan all address the waste management objectives, provision of facilities to meet capacity requirements and locational criteria set out in policies ENV12-14 of the Yorkshire and Humber Plan. BDR authorities are working in partnership together, as well as with the waste industry, to secure new household waste recycling, composting and treatment facilities and prepare the Joint Waste Plan. Waste data has been provided by the Environment Agency and Local Government Yorkshire and Humber, and potential site information 11

16 from Recycling Action Yorkshire. BDR authorities have incorporated the locational criteria from policy ENV14 into the site assessment process for identifying and selecting preferred sites for allocation in WCS 3. LOCAL POLICY Local Development Frameworks Each council is preparing a separate, general purpose Core Strategy, which will set out a spatial vision for their area, and key strategic objectives and strategic policies for different types of development. The Joint Waste Plan will be an additional Development Plan Document (DPD) in each borough s Local Development Framework. Municipal Waste Management Strategies Alongside the general purpose core strategies and other DPDs, such as the Joint Waste Plan, each council has prepared a separate municipal waste management strategy to guide and inform decisions regarding municipal waste within their areas over the long term. These strategies set out the framework of policies and proposals for collection, treatment and disposal options to deliver more sustainable management of municipal waste. In particular, they focus on diverting the biodegradable fraction (e.g. kitchen waste, garden waste, cardboard etc) of municipal waste away from landfill in response to the government s Landfill Allowances Trading Scheme and therefore have an important role in helping BDR meet the requirements of the European waste directives described earlier in this chapter. Sustainable Community Strategies PPS12 sees the LDF as a key component in the delivery of the Sustainable Community Strategy and requires LDF documents to express those elements of the Sustainable Community Strategy that relate to the development and use of land. Local Area Agreements A Local Area Agreement (LAA) is a three year agreement between central government and the local area, based on achieving the local priorities set out in the Sustainable Community Strategy. The Local Strategic Partnership is an umbrella group of local organisations which come together voluntarily alongside the relevant local authority to set a long-term vision for the area and collectively review and steer public resources Sustainable Community Strategy priorities as negotiated and agreed by the Local Strategic Partnership are translated into a set of Local Area Agreement targets. Local Strategic Partnership partners choose indicators that will best help achieve the agreed priorities, and set targets for each indicator, for each year of the Local Area Agreement s three-year timeframe. These targets are both designated and non-designated. Designated targets are selected from 12

17 the new set of 198 National Indicators, and progress in achieving them must be reported to central government The Joint Waste Plan along with other LDF documents will help to give spatial expression to each borough's sustainable community strategy and orchestrate their delivery through policies and targets. Those aspects of our municipal waste management strategies and sustainable community strategies that are relevant to the Joint Waste Plan, along with relevant Local Area Agreement targets, are summarised in table 2.1. Relationship between Joint Waste Plan and Private Finance Initiative for Municipal Waste Management Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham have a history of joint working on waste issues. The aim of the BDR partnership has been to investigate ways of achieving economies of scale and a more sustainable approach to waste management BDR recognise that municipal waste must be managed in a way that maximises recycling and diverts significant quantities of biodegradable waste away from landfill, whilst encouraging a culture of waste minimisation. Benefits of joint working include: net efficiency savings, reduced transport costs, economies of scale, increased competition; hence cost effective solutions. Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Even when the majority of waste is being recycled by residents and businesses, councils still need to deal with the left over material that is put into the black bins. The government recognised the need to invest in new facilities to treat this waste throughout the UK and the Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme was established to accelerate investment in the largescale infrastructure required to treat residual waste without compromising efforts to minimise waste and increase recycling levels. The Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme brings together the resources and roles of DEFRA, Partnerships UK ( ) and 4ps ( in support of councils undertaking waste projects. In October 2007, the three borough councils submitted an outline business case to DEFRA (Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs) for the provision of new treatment facilities to deal with BDR s residual household and commercial waste, and were awarded 77.4 million of PFI (Private Finance Initiative) funding In order to gain funding from DEFRA there was a requirement to identify sites that could accommodate waste management facilities. Site surveys were undertaken on behalf of the three boroughs covering a range of economic, social and environmental considerations. Manvers, Bolton Road, Rotherham was judged to be a preferred site for the PFI scheme due to its location, size and proximity to transport network. The site is centrally located within the 15 National Indicators for Local Authorities and Local Authority Partnerships: Handbook of Definitions (CLG, revised edition, May 2008). 13

18 plan area close to the boundaries of all three boroughs and is part of an existing industrial estate. A further site in Grange Lane in Barnsley, an existing transfer station, was also identified as being suitable for use within the BDR PFI project No waste processes are being specified at this stage to allow potential bidders to come up with a range of potential technologies. Further information about the procurement and bidding process can be found on the BDR website: The DPD and PFI processes have been run in parallel to minimise risks relating to delivery of waste treatment facilities in the future and to increase market certainty in the event that a planning application comes forward. SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT Waste management practice has fundamentally changed since the introduction of the European and UK legislation described above, which requires waste authorities to move towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly methods of waste management and waste disposal Waste has strong green credentials in that it is a potential valuable resource that can be recovered, recycled and/or used to create energy and products, such as electricity, biomass, alternative fuels (renewable energy) and crude oil. A number of research studies attest to the environmental, social and economic benefits of new waste management practices, as explained below. If BDR reduce and recycle more waste this will help to reduce their carbon footprint. Around 80% of waste from BDR s bins (see for further details) can be recycled or converted into commercial products, such as aggregate, animal feed and alternative fuels The following sections summarise the current thinking on potential benefits and issues associated with planning for the provision of sustainable waste management facilities. Environment and health Municipal waste has, at best, a very minor effect on health and the environment, especially associated with other risks associated with ordinary day to day living 16. There is no link between incidence of cancer, respiratory disease or birth defects and waste incinerators/waste treatment facilities (including landfill). Residents living close to waste facilities did not suffer a higher incidence of cancer mortality than other areas. To quote the recent Health Protection Agency statement (The Impact on Health of Emissions to Air from Municipal Waste Incinerators, September 2009), health impacts from incineration are likely to be "very small and not detectable" (paragraph 28). Risks to human heath from incineration and recycling are small in comparison with other known risks to health, such as power generation and transport. Municipal waste produces relatively low levels of air emissions. 16 Review of Environmental and Health Effects of Waste Management: Municipal Solid Waste and Similar Wastes (Enviros, Defra and University of Birmingham, 2004) 14

19 Waste management facilities are subject to stringent environmental controls through licenses issued by the Environment Agency and subsequent licence enforcement and monitoring. EU legislative measures (such as the Landfill Directive and Waste Incineration Directive) rank among the strictest in the world and require us to control the impact of noise, odour, dust and other environmental effects arising from waste processing so that they do not give rise to harm. Effective waste management has a key role in tackling climate change (see PPS10 and PPS12). Recycling currently saves between million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases per year compared to other traditional forms of waste management, such as landfill. This is equivalent to taking 3.5 million cars off the road. The environmental impacts from waste treatment such as greenhouse gas emissions have reduced significantly in recent years as a result of legislative changes. Design and visual benefits Waste facilities should achieve design excellence. PPS10 states that new waste facilities must be well designed so that they contribute positively to the character and quality of the area in which it is located. New waste treatment facilities usually require modern industrial-style buildings, preferably within urban locations, such as existing industrial estates that respect the character of the surrounding area. Purpose built waste facilities will have less visual impact than large scale distribution warehouses. There are numerous examples of high quality and innovative waste facilities that integrate well with their surroundings in both rural and urban locations across Europe and the UK. Examples can be found at: and quality waste facilities supplementary planning document) and DEFRA s Designing waste facilities, a key guide to modern design in waste. The government affords high priority to the design of waste facilities. Transportation of waste There are a number of potential transportation benefits associated with colocating recycling facilities and large scale strategic waste facilities - including reduced waste movements (as fewer journeys will be required) and economies of scale. The provision of on-site facilities will also reduce transportation costs. Locating waste facilities on existing industrial estates within urban areas will ensure waste can be managed close to where people live and work. Recent studies have shown that waste management facilities can be located to reduce journey times and encourage a modal shift of waste from road to rail and waterways such as canals Transport impacts of household waste recycling centres from Waste and Resource Management Journal (S. J. Maynard MSc and T. Cherrett PhD, CMILT, February 2006). 15

20 New waste technologies The waste sector is constantly developing new technologies and significant advances have been made in the field of waste and recycling since the adoption of the previous UDP. New waste technologies reduce carbon dioxide emissions, require less energy, provide green collar job opportunities such as skilled/semi skilled manufacturing workers etc. BDR are technology neutral in that they are not wedded to any one particular technology and wish to assess a range of prospective sites against a full range of evaluation criteria, giving full consideration to environmental, social and financial impacts. The technology neutral approach allows for the presentation of a mix of technologies to give the best overall solution, allowing even higher levels of recycling and diversion and also gaining additional value through recovery of electricity and/or heat. Further information about the benefits of new technologies (including mechanical and biological heat treatment, anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis and gasification) can be found from gwaste Green economy Large scale strategic waste facilities will provide a significant boost to BDR s economy and create new green jobs. Waste management represents a burgeoning green industry and forms a significant part of government s new growth agenda. New waste technologies are more cost effective and efficient than landfill operations. The proposed strategic waste management facility at South Kirkby Business Park will create around 70 skilled and semi skilled jobs, mostly for local people, as well as several construction/waste collection jobs. A recent report by think tank Demos suggested that an intensive recycling programme in the UK would result in a total of between 40,000 and 55,000 collection, sorting, manufacturing and processing jobs 18. The regional development agency for the South West (SWDRA) has estimated that meeting the 40% recycling rate and recovery targets could create an addition 675 jobs in the region and further expansion of existing facilities could create between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs. Studies have estimated (conservatively) that for every tonne recycled in the UK some 5.9 jobs are created 19. Revenues in the waste sector are likely to double by LEPU, 2004, Jobs From Recycling: Report on Stage II of the Research, Table 3.2 p20 16

21 Table 2.1 Summary of priorities relevant to the Joint Waste Plan in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham s Municipal Waste Management Strategy, Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement targets and how the Joint Waste Plan will help to implement the priorities Municipal Waste Management Strategy Barnsley Doncaster Rotherham The policies of Barnsley s Municipal Waste The key targets of Doncaster s Municipal Management Strategy are as follows: 20 Waste Management Strategy are as follows: 21. Promote waste prevention and re-use Continue the provision of recycling/composting services and facilities Provision of an in-vessel composting facility Explore opportunities for commercial waste recycling/composting Development of Waste Management Site DPDs to allocate sites for treatment of municipal waste Specific targets which have been identified in the municipal waste management strategy include: Reduce the amount of household waste produced per inhabitant Increase participation in kerbside recycling Reuse, recycle or compost 50% of waste received at sites in 08/09 and 75% in 2011/12 Recycle or compost 10% of residual waste Achieve a reuse, recycling and composting rate for household waste of 46% by 2011/12, 50% by 2012/13 and 60% by 2015/16 The key targets contained in Rotherham s Municipal Waste Management Strategy are as follows 22. Recycle (or compost) at least 45% of household waste by 2015/16 Diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill: by 2020, reduce biodegradable municipal waste disposed to landfill to 35% of that produced in 1995 Recycle or compost 30% of household waste by 2010/11 The Joint Waste Plan provides the policy framework to help deliver all three borough s municipal waste management strategy priorities, as it safeguards existing (policy WCS2) and allocates new strategic sites (policy WCS3) for the recycling, composting and recovery of municipal, (as well as commercial and industrial) waste. Policy WCS4 also allows the opportunity for new waste facility proposals to come forward on non-allocated sites. In addition, policy WCS5 safeguards existing landfill capacity in BDR, which is sufficient to take the declining amount of residual waste remaining after recycling, composting and recovery targets have been met. 20 Barnsley Municipal Waste Management Strategy (Barnsley MBC, April 2007). 21 Doncaster Waste Strategy: An Opportunity not to be Wasted (Doncaster MBC, 2009). 22 Rotherham Municipal Waste Management Strategy (Rotherham MBC, 2005). 17

22 Sustainable Community Strategy Barnsley Doncaster Rotherham Barnsley s Sustainable Community Strategy seeks The key objectives of the Sustainable Rotherham s Sustainable Community Strategy 25 is to create a 21 st century market town and is Community Strategy are as follows 24. based upon the following vision: based on the following ambitions 23 Our communities are attractive, clean and sustainable places to live Barnsley is one of the safest towns in Yorkshire Barnsley offers varied and exciting cultural opportunities to all. Barnsley is recognised for its community Barnsley people are healthier and live longer Enabling adults to have healthy and fulfilling lives Barnsley children and young people aiming high, enjoying life and seizing opportunity. 21st century environments for 21st century learning, enterprise, skills and services. Building a prosperous and sustainable local economy Barnsley has a high performing integrated transport system. Promote Barnsley as a great place to live, work and visit. A prosperous place Safer, cleaner and greener Equality of opportunity (cross-cutting) Protecting the environment (cross-cutting) Rotherham Achieving ( providing land and accommodation for low carbon and environmental technologies ) Rotherham Alive ( In promoting sustainable communities, our framework looks to safeguard and enhance accessible local community services ) Rotherham Safe ( promoting sustainable waste management and the efficient use of resources ) Fairness ( ensure services are accessible to all ) Sustainable Development ( improve sustainable infrastructure improve the local environmental quality of our neighbourhoods ) In addition, the growing amount of waste being generated within the authority (particularly household and industrial waste) is identified as a strategic issue to be addressed. Increasing recycling performance and diverting biodegradable waste from landfill is identified as an objective of the strategy. The Joint Waste Plan sets the policy framework to support the delivery of each borough s Sustainable Community Strategy priorities through: 23 Barnsley Sustainable Community Strategy: (One Barnsley, Local Strategic Partnership, 2008). 24 Sustainable Borough Strategy for Doncaster: Shaping our future to 2025 (Doncaster MBC, 2009). 25 Rotherham s Community Strategy (as updated in 2008) (Rotherham MBC, September 2008). 18

23 Barnsley Doncaster Rotherham ensuring the existing waste management network is safeguarded, and the timely provision of waste management facilities to meet future requirements for recycling, composting and diverting waste from landfill; ensuring new facilities adopt cleaner and more efficient technologies, encouraging innovation and sustainable construction methods; creating new jobs and investment opportunities, and contributing to the regeneration of the BDR, making it a place where people choose to live and invest; minimising the environmental impact associated with waste and pollution, including the safety and security of waste operations and traffic movements; and ensuring that facilities are kept away from sensitive locations such as nature conservation sites, schools and hospitals Local Area Agreement performance indicators The following local area agreement targets are of relevance to the Joint Waste Plan 26 : NI 151: Overall employment rate NI 167: Congestion - average journey time per mile during the morning peak NI 171: New business registration rate NI 186: Per capita carbon dioxide emissions in the local authority area NI 188: Adapting to climate change NI 192: Percentage of household waste sent for re-use, recycling and composting (40% by 09/10 and 42% by 10/11) NI 193: Percentage of municipal waste land filled (64.7% by 09/10 and 57.2% by 10/11) NI 195: Improved street and environmental cleanliness The following local area agreement targets are of relevance to the Joint Waste Plan: 27 NI 151: Overall employment rate NI 167: Congestion - average journey time per mile during the morning peak NI 171: New business registration rate NI 186: Per capita carbon dioxide emissions in the local authority area NI 188: Adapting to climate change NI 189: Flood and coastal erosion risk management NI 192: Percentage of household waste sent for re-use, recycling and composting NI 195: Improved street and environmental cleanliness The following local area agreement targets are of relevance to the Joint Waste Plan: 28 NI 151: Overall employment rate NI 167: Congestion - average journey time per mile during the morning peak NI 171: New business registration rate NI 186: Per capita carbon dioxide emissions in the local authority area NI 192: Percentage of household waste sent for re-use, recycling and composting The policies in the Joint Waste Plan should help to deliver all three borough s Local Area Agreement targets against the relevant indicators listed above (they have chosen similar targets from the national indicators). The Joint Waste Plan should help to contribute to the overall employment rate (NI 151) and new business start ups (NI 171) by safeguarding existing waste facilities (policy WCS2) and providing for new waste facilities (policies WCS3 and WCS4). These policies, plus policy WCS6, should also help to reduce CO2 emissions (NI 186) and avoid congestion on local roads (NI 167) by seeking to locate facilities close to transport links, other waste facilities and urban areas. Policy WCS1-5 should directly address NI 192 and 195 as they seek to safeguard existing and deliver sufficient new recycling and composting facilities and provide for a declining amount of residual waste to be landfilled. They should indirectly help to address NI 195 (in combination with each borough s municipal waste 26 Barnsley Local Area Agreement, (Barnsley MBC, July 2008). 27 Doncaster Local Area Agreement, (Doncaster MBC, May 2009). 28 Rotherham Local Area Agreement (Rotherham Partnership, March 2009). 19