All 22 Welsh local authorities met 2015/16 targets to reduce biodegradable municipal waste to landfill – although some councils face a ‘challenge’ to meet landfill reduction targets up to 2020, Natural Resources Wales has claimed.
The comments came in a data release on the Welsh Government’s Landfill Allowances Scheme for 2015/16 – which indicates that councils sent a total of 170,500 tonnes of BMW [biodegradable municipal waste] to landfill during the year. In 2015/16, councils had a target allowance of no more than 410,000 tonnes of BMW to landfill.
Among individual authorities, the data shows that Blaenau Gwent, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Vale of Glamorgan used less than 20% of their allowances. However, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea used over 75% of their allowances.
The figures do indicate that Welsh councils have made progress since 2013/14 when four councils – Cardiff, Flintshire, Merthyr Tydfil and Newport – exceeded, their allowances, whilst Caerphilly, Gwynedd and Wrexham used over 90% of their allocation.
Warning
The 2013/14 data prompted Natural Resources Wales to warn that councils may be in danger of failing to meet future landfill diversion targets (see letsrecycle.com story).
In its analysis of the 2015/16 figures, National Resources Wales said: “As a whole, local authorities have continued to make good progress in diverting BMW from landfill. However, meeting the future targets up to 2020 will be particularly challenging for those local authorities that were close to exceeding their 2015/16 individual allowances.”
Allowance
It added: “The annual results show that all local authorities achieved their LAS allowance obligations during 2015/16. A total of 170,567 tonnes of BMW from Wales was sent to landfill compared to the total Wales allowance of 410,000 tonnes. This means that local authorities in Wales collectively landfilled 58% (239,433 tonnes) less BMW than the 2015/16 allowance.
“The results show that nineteen local authorities have considerable headroom to meet their future obligations as they used no more than 70% of their allocated allowances. Blaenau Gwent, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Vale of Glamorgan used less than 20% of their allocated allowance.”
The Landfill Allowance Scheme Wales was introduced in 2005/6 and is designed to reduce biodegradable waste sent to landfill in Wales in line with the EU Landfill Directive. The Directive requires EU Member States to send no more than 35% of the volume of bio-municipal waste to landfill than they did during 1995 by 2020.
Related Links
Landfill Allowances Scheme 2015-16 Progress Report
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
