GEP

The Government’s key objectives are to:

• Decouple waste growth (in all sectors) 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 andsecure better integration of treatment for municipal and non-municipal waste;
• secure the investment in infrastructure needed to divertwaste from landfill and for the management of hazardous waste;
• 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.

A greater focus on waste prevention will be recognised through a new target to reduce the amount of household waste not re-used, recycled or composted from over 22.2 million tonnes in 2000 by 29% to 15.8 million tonnes in 2010 with an aspiration to reduce it to 12.2 million tonnes in 2020 – a reduction of 45%. This is equivalent to a fall of 50% per person (from 450 kg per person in 2000 to 225 kg in 2020) Higher national targets than in 2000 have been set for:

• recycling and composting of household waste – at least 40% by 2010, 45% by 2015 and 50% by 2020; and
• recovery of municipal waste – 53% by 2010, 67% by 2015and 75% by 2020.

Click here for the Gloucestershire County Councils waste strategy