'Waste less, recycle more and don't burn' - verdict on waste strategy

24 June 2009

The Welsh Assembly Government's waste strategy is a step in the right direction but does not go far enough to meet the major challenges of climate change and resource depletion, says a leading environmental group.

In its response to the draft strategy, Friends of the Earth Cymru calls for more ambitious recycling targets and a far greater emphasis on reducing waste.

The group also wants incineration dropped as an option for dealing with waste, claiming that its inclusion in the strategy seriously risks undermining targets for recycling and waste reduction.

Gordon James, director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, said:

"While the Assembly Government's target of achieving 70 per cent recycling by 2025 is a step in the right direction, we have to be more ambitious.

"Parts of Europe, such as Flanders and Germany, are already achieving this rate, so we believe we should be aiming for 70 per cent recycling by 2015 and 80 per cent by 2020.

"We also want to see a much greater emphasis on waste reduction. Wales could become a zero waste nation, in which residual waste has been eliminated, by 2030 rather than the proposed target of 2050. This is far too long to wait given the current environmental problems we face. Bold and urgent action is necessary now.

"The Assembly Government's own consultants have stated that it is fundamental that recycling becomes an option for waste management only after reduction and reuse [1].

"Without significant waste reduction, even 70 per cent recycling by 2025 would fail to meet the Assembly Government's own target to reduce Wales's 'ecological footprint' to a fair 1.88 global hectares per person."

Gordon James went on to highlight Friends of the Earth Cymru's concerns about the inclusion of incineration in the strategy.

"Incineration should not be part of any waste strategy. It is not a 'green' technology as it produces toxic ash, emits excessive amounts of carbon dioxide, and its use would weaken incentives to reduce waste and boost recycling," he said.

"The case for incineration is based on the unrealistic assumption that all residual waste could be incinerated and that all the ash is reusable."

"In practice, less than 50 per cent of the ash could be used and a significant amount of this would be hazardous waste. There are no suitable landfill sites for these residues in Wales, so they would need to be exported elsewhere.

"We believe that Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) systems are a much better way of treating residual waste in terms of both reducing environmental impacts and maximising waste recovery.

"While it is encouraging that the Assembly Government is addressing how we need to deal with our waste, there is still a lot of work to do if we are going to transform Wales into a truly 'zero waste' society."

NOTES

1. Ecological Footprint impact of the Welsh Waste Strategy

For further information, including a copy of the summary response, please contact Friends of the Earth Cymru on 029 2022 9577