Wyre Forest district council has praised a joint waste strategy between local authorities in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, which it says has helped reduce the amount of waste sent for landfill.
And, the council’s cabinet members earlier this month approved an updated Herefordshire and Worcestershire Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS) which was “refreshed to reflect new Government guideline2s.
Staff at the opening of the EnviRecover facility earlier this year
The JMWMS for Herefordshire and Worcestershire was first published in 2004 and covers the period 2004 to 2034.
It is a joint strategy across the six Worcestershire district councils, Worcestershire county council and Herefordshire council, reflecting the partnership across Herefordshire and Worcestershire in relation to a shared waste disposal service.
EnviRecover
Since it was adopted more than a decade ago the amount of waste sent to landfill in Worcestershire has dropped by more than 70%, which the council reports is mainly due to the opening of a new energy from waste (EfW) plant, EnviRecover (see letsrecycle.com story) run by FCC Environment.
At the same time the amount of waste recycled during the period has increased by more than 60%, the council said. In 2014/15 31.9% of waste from Wyre Forest homes was recycled, while the recycling rate across the partnership was 40%.
The amount of waste produced per home has reduced over the previous six years – from an average 1.23 tonne per household in 2009 to 1.13 tonne per household in 2015/16 – although there has been a rise overall, due to the number of new homes built over the period.
Strategy
Cabinet member for operational services at Wyre Forest district council, councillor Rebecca Vale, said: “The figures speak for themselves and the joint waste strategy has successfully enabled us to work across the two counties to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
“The new plant at Hartlebury means we are now generating power from materials that cannot be re-used or recycle. The updated strategy will allow us to continue to minimise the amount of waste being generated despite a substantial increase in new homes that we expect over the next decade or so.
“Our message to residents is please where possible try to reduce waste, re-use, recycle and compost more.”
Cllr Rebecca Vale
Wyre Forest district council
“Our message to residents is please where possible try to reduce waste, re-use, recycle and compost more.
Ms Vale continued: “As a council we are doing everything we can to minimise the amount of waste we produce and reduce our carbon footprint, for example by ensuring collection rounds are as fuel-efficient as possible.
Carbon footprint
“In future we will also be asking suppliers and contractors to include information about their carbon footprint when tendering for our business.”
EnviRecover opened in Hartlebury in March this year and can treat up to 200,000 tonnes of waste, exporting 15.5 MW of electricity to the grid. The facility complements Worcestershire county council and Herefordshire council’s other waste and recycling facility, the EnviroSort MRF at Norton operated by Severn Waste Services. Severn Waste is jointly owned by FCC Environment and Urbaser.
Bottom ash from the incinerator goes to the Hill and Moor landfill site while air pollution control residues go to Carbon8 in Avonmouth.
Related links
Hartlebury
Envirosort
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
