Hertfordshire’s waste management project has the potential to divert up to 170,000 tonnes of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfill per annum once operational;
Norfolk County Council’s waste management project has the potential to divert up to 70,000 tonnes of BMW from landfill per annum by 2020; and
The South London Waste Partnership comprise of four unitary authorities: Croydon, Kingston-upon-Thames, Merton, and Sutton. Their waste management project has the potential to divert up to 102,600 tonnes of BMW from landfill per annum once operational.
Environment Minister Jane Kennedy said:
“Reducing our reliance on landfill is an essential part of the drive to tackle climate change and I welcome the ambitious commitment made by these partnerships.
“This will create a real incentive for the local authorities and industry to work together to reduce waste as well as reducing the environmental impact of landfill.”
These projects will make an important contribution to tackling climate change. Not only is there the potential to divert a total of 342,600 tonnes of BMW from landfill per year by 2020, they will also reduce carbon emissions from landfill. The total potential carbon dioxide emissions savings is approximately 137,500 tonnes, which is equivalent to removing 43,200 cars from the road for a year. In addition, these projects have the potential to create over 100 jobs once the plants are operational with up to 1000 jobs during construction and commissioning.
All authorities involved are aiming for a long-term minimum recycling and composting rate of over 50%by 2020.
