The document discusses the UK waste strategy and regulatory framework as presented by Dr. Adam Read at a waste management conference. It covers legislative developments, fiscal drivers like landfill tax, the evolving definitions of municipal waste, and the enforcement of recycling targets across different UK regions. The presentation highlights the need for collaboration among stakeholders to improve waste management practices and emphasizes the role of market development and quality control in achieving sustainable waste outcomes.

1. Waste Strategy & Regulation
‘a UK perspective’
Dr. Adam Read – Director
Waste Management & Resource Efficiency, AEA
Presentation to the Waste , Recycling Industry Association (QLD) inc
26th October 2012 A world leading
energy and climate
Brisbane change consultancy

2. Presentation scope in 30 minutes …
+ Personal welcome
+ The legislative framework
+ Waste strategy development
+ Drivers for change:
- Fiscal
 Landfill tax
- Regulatory
 Permitting and exemption regime
- Market Development
 Quality Protocols
+ In summary – what can we learn?
+ Open Q&A…. 2

3. A personal welcome
+ Dr Adam Read
- Practice Director @ AEA for Waste Management & Resource Efficiency
- 18 years of operational expertise
- 80 consultants (UK) plus 50 in the US
- Former Local Authority Recycling Officer (RB Kensington & Chelsea)
- Working with EA on new technologies and infrastructure delivery
- Client Manager for WRAP (UK delivery agency)
- Designed and rolled out innovative new collection schemes (15 years)
- BUT I am not a regulator (this is important – watch this space)
+ Acknowledgements
- AEA team (my co-authors)
 Nia Owen and Maria Vinogradova
- My clients for allowing me to ‘share’ their experiences (off record)
- The organisers for the invite (thanks Rick & Georgina!) 3

4. http://www.aeat.com
AEA delivers over £90 million annually of energy, environmental,
resource efficiency, transportation, and climate policy support and
program implementation services to:
UK Government
US Government
European Commission
International Institutions
…. waste management, carbon management, climate change strategies, transport,
resource management, life cycle assessment, sustainability, energy efficiency,
clean energy, GHG inventories, adaptation, behaviour change ….
4

5. Our Scope of Services
Practice Areas: Expertise:
+ Air and Environmental Quality
 WRATE / Carbon Modeling
+ Chemical Emergency & Risk  Audits
Management  Procurement Support
+ Energy & Climate Change  Technologies / Cost / Barriers
+ Enterprise Services  Policy Development
+ Information Management  Stakeholder Engagement /
Communications
+ Knowledge Management
 Service Efficiencies
+ Sustainable Transport  Knowledge Management &
+ Resource Efficiency and Waste Transfer
Management  Training
…. experience at the interface of government, business, and academia 5

6. EU Policy
6

7. EU Waste Framework Directive
+ Dates back to the 1970s
+ Enshrines the waste hierarchy
within the WFD Prevention
+ Transferred to national law by Preparing for
each member state reuse
- Enacted through policy / strategy
Recycling
+ Recent change to prioritise
‘reuse’ Other
recovery
+ National Waste Management
Strategy Dispo
sal
+ National Waste Minimisation
Strategy
7
+ Infraction if fail to comply….

8. Landfill Directive - 2000
+ Scaling back of organic material to landfills compared to 1995 …
8

9. The EU Landfill Directive
+ EU Landfill Directive – address landfill’s environmental impacts
- BMW reductions required to mitigate fugitive CH4 emissions
- Pre-treatment of landfilled materials
- Landfill waste acceptance criteria (WACs)
- Landfill design, operation, completion and closure requirements
+ BMW Landfill targets for the UK
- 75% of 1995 level by 2010
- 50% of 1995 level by 2013
- 35% of 1995 level by 2020
+ Required all stakeholders to work together
- National legislation & policy
- Support programmes
- Engagement & Education
9
- Collection and Treatment providers

10. Waste arisings – 2010/11
Waste Type Scotland Wales Northern England
Ireland
Municipal 3.14 1.63 0.94 26.3
Household 2.82 1.39 0.83 23.3
C&I* 6.5 3.6 1.3 48.0
C&D* 7.6 12.2 1.7 77.4
+ Million tonnes per annum
10

11. The predicted ‘need for change’ …
60
50
Millions tonnes per annum
40 Non-biodegradable
Municipal Waste
30
20 Biodegradable Municipal Waste
Requiring Diversion
10
Biodegradable Municipal
Waste Allowed to Landfill
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
11

12. What does this mean?
+ This now includes C&I wastes….. GAME CHANGER!
- A major shift in how the UK defines MSW!!!!
12

13. Implementation of EU Policy & National
waste strategy development
13

14. UK Government
+ UK is responsible for reporting to EU
on policy progress
+ National Administrations set policy
and monitor performance
- England
- Scotland
- Wales
- Northern Ireland
+ Local Government set strategy,
deliver services and respond to local
‘demands’
- Funded by UK taxation
- Funded by local Council Tax
14
- Elected ‘members’

15. Implementation … nationally …
+ Waste Strategy for England 2007
- Waste Review 2011 (some minor revisions in priorities)
+ Scotland Zero Waste Plan 2010
+ Wales Towards Zero Waste strategy 2010
+ Northern Ireland Waste Strategy 2006 (now under review)
15

16. “Strategy wars” – political objectives!
Policy/
County
Strategy
Year Recycling Landfill Incineration
Government
Review of
35% of 1995
Waste Policy in (2011)
England 50% by 2020 levels by 2020
England) Waste 2007
(biodegradable)
Strategy for
England
Zero Waste Maximum 5% by
Scotland 2010 70% by 2025
Plan 2025
Maximum 30%
Towards Zero Maximum 5% by
Wales 2010 70% by 2025 high efficiency
Waste 2025
EfW by 2025
Towards 50% by 2020 35% of 1995
Northern
Resource 2006 (HHW), 60% by levels by 2020
Ireland
Management 2020 (C&IW) (biodegradable)
16

17. Levels of ambition
England Scotland Wales
Targets beyond EU Landfill and Waste
Framework Directives   
Restrictions on waste managed through 
incineration i.e. not just landfill substitution  
Enforced source segregation of food waste   
Landfill ban considerations /  /
Individual authority targets and guidelines
on collection systems   
17

18. Divergence?
+ Wales and Scotland are
now clearly leading in
terms of waste strategy
- Clear centralised leadership
- High priority issue
- Ambitious targets beyond
statutory EU limits
+ Wales and Scotland have
fully embraced Zero Waste
as a policy concept
- Used as a philosophy to drive
change
- Zero waste to landfill initially
- One Planet Living (Wales)
18
- Carbon mitigation (Scotland)

19. Does it make a difference???
1.2
Reduction in MSW Landfilled (% 0f
1
0.8
2001/2 levels)
0.6 England
0.4 Scotland
0.2 Wales
0
+ Look at Scotland catching up after strategy…
+ The proof will come in a couple of years’ time…
19

20. And the scores are………………………
Municipal Recycling Rates
1. 48% of household waste was recycled
and composted in Wales during the
financial year 2011-12, representing a
4% increase on the previous year
2. Recycling rate for English councils was
42.5% between October 2010 and
September 2011
3. Scotland reached a household waste
recycling and composting rate of 40.7%
for 2011
20

21. Fiscal Driver: landfill tax
21

22. Landfill tax escalator
£90
+ Landfill becomes
£80
unviable as tax
increases £70
£60
+ Tax is applied
before gate fee £50
£40
+ Gate fees at landfill
c. £50-75/ tonne £30
£20
+ Gate fees at EfW
plants will be £10
c.£70-£100 / tonne £0
01.10.96
01.04.97
01.04.98
01.04.99
01.04.00
01.04.01
01.04.02
01.04.04
01.04.05
01.04.06
01.04.07
01.04.08
01.04.09
01.04.10
01.04.11
01.04.12
01.04.13
01.04.14
01.04.03
+ Landfill stopped
making financial
sense in 2009-10
Standard Future Inert
22

23. Impacts!
23

24. Solutions….. in England
24

25. UK Regulatory Framework
25

26. Waste Regulation
+ Enforcement:
- Environment Agency in England & Wales*
- SEPA in Scotland
- EPA in Northern Ireland
 *Wales is to have its own enforcement body from April 2013
+ EU is key driver for legislation:
- Waste Framework Directive
- Landfill Directive
- Producer Responsibility (by material and sector)
+ Each member state is responsible for implementing legislation
- significant differences in approach across the EU (voluntary vs. mandatory)
+ Within the UK each Country is also developing its own approach
26

27. Increasing focus on C&I wastes …
27

28. Private sector will invest!
+ Recognition that change wouldn’t happen without interference
+ Scotland have introduced the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012
+ Requirements:
- Separate collection of metal, plastic, glass, paper and card from 1st January
2014 from all HHs and businesses
- Food businesses (except in rural areas) which produce > 50 kg of food
waste per week to present that food waste for separate collection from 1st
January 2014
- Food businesses (except in rural areas) which produce > 5 kg of food waste
per week to present that food waste for separate collection from 1st
January 2016
+ Regulations also ban the use of non-domestic food waste
disposal units, i.e. macerators
- avoid food waste being diverted to the sewers! 28

29. Statutory (mandatory) Targets for MSW
+ Wales have introduced statutory recycling targets for MSW
under the Waste (Wales) Measure 2010:
- 2012-13: 52% …… 2015-16: 58%
- 2019-20: 64% ….. 2024-25: 70%
+ Waste must have undergone a relevant recovery operation so
that it has been reprocessed into a product, material or
substance, whether for its original or other purpose to be
counted in these targets
- e.g. Compost must meet the requirements of Compost QP
+ Markets are critical to achieving recycling rates
+ Government are part funding quality collection systems
- Influence what is happening without mandating solution
+ Failure to comply with statutory targets = financial penalties ££ 29

30. Regulatory Driver – Permitting &
Exemption System
30

31. Environment Agency
+ Regulator for England and Wales
- risk based approach to regulation
+ Executive non-departmental Public Body
+ Permits and licenses
+ Pollution control
+ Research activities
+ Data collection
+ Staff: 11,500
+ Budget: £1.1 billion
- £750 million – from Central Government
- £350 million – charged income
31

32. Environmental Permitting Regime
+ Any waste operation will normally require an authorisation:
Bespoke
Permit
Standard
Risk
Permit
Exemption
+ Environmental permits issued by the Environment Agency
+ The waste operation must operate within the controls laid out in
the environmental permit
+ Types of operation requiring a permit are:
- Waste transfer stations
- Materials recovery facilities
32
- Incinerators

33. Risk based regulation
+ The theory behind the Environment Agency approach
- aim to reduce red tape and help businesses
+ Regulate poor performers and complex operations more
rigorously!
+ Proportionate regulation and enforcement
+ Environment Agency offers a range of permits
- Standard permits for low risk operations
- Exemptions (no license, but on the radar)
- Bespoke permits for complex / large operations
+ Operator Risk Appraisal: Opra
- Charges and inspections are risk-based!
+ There is no operating outside the system
33

34. Closing down the ‘worst’ offenders
Closure of most of the 8,000 licensed facilities
34

35. Standard permit
+ Rules are set out in the Standard Rules document so that an
applicant will know exactly what they have to comply with
before they make an application
+ Conditions may include:
- Proximity to housing
- Nature conservation
- Type and quantity of materials accepted
+ The application process is simpler and less time consuming as a
risk assessment (generic for that type of facility) has already
been prepared and the application requirements are reduced
+ Application fees for standard permits are cheaper than for
bespoke permits, and are determined more quickly
35

36. Exemptions
+ Lower risk activities can operate under an exemption from
environmental permitting which must be registered with the
Environment Agency, and operated under the controls set
+ An exemption from a waste permit can be grated if:
- Waste is recovered or disposed of without endangering
human health and without using processes or methods which
could harm the environment and in particular without
 risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals; or
 causing nuisance through noise or odours; or
 adversely affecting the countryside or places of special
interest 36

37. Exemptions
+ Types of operations that can operate under a permit are:
- Composting facilities which are processing waste generated
on-site
- Storage of waste in a secure place
- Sorting of scrap metal
+ How are new waste operations managed?
- New operations normally require an environmental permit
- However, ‘low risk solutions’ will be considered by the EA
where requiring a permit (no exemption exists) would be
disproportionate to the risk posed
37

38. Bespoke Permits
+ Bespoke permit needed if no exemption or standard rules permit
is appropriate to your operation
+ Application must include detail on control of risk
+ Statutory consultation required & determination can take 13 wks
+ Charges - permitted sites pay a subsistence fee based on the
OPRA (operational risk appraisal) charging scheme, i.e. charges &
inspection frequency are risk based
- Complexity
- Inputs & emissions
- Location
- Operator management systems & performance
+ Enables Environment Agency to regulate poor performers and
complex operations more rigorously 38

39. Enforcement
+ Environment Agency enforcement policy aims:
- “To stop offending – aim to stop an illegal activity from
continuing/occurring;
- To restore and/or remediate – aim to put right environmental
harm or damage.
- To bring under regulatory control – aim to bring an illegal
activity into compliance with the law.
- Punish and/or deter – to punish an offender and/or deter
future offending.”
Environment Agency
39

40. Proceeds of Crime Act
+ Allows a Court to deprive convicted offenders of assets gained
from crime. But can only be used following a guilty verdict
+ EA can:
- Ensure environmental crime does not continue
- Investigate finances to establish and find hidden profits
- Stop the disposal of assets whilst investigations is underway
- Present evidence to court for a confiscation order – i.e. how much the
offender has to pay. Failure to pay – prison sentence
- Remove profits, even if offender serves a jail sentence
+ Confiscations in 2011:
- Number of on-going financial investigations: 132
- Number of confiscation orders: 26
- Total confiscated: £2.2m
- Highest confiscation: £0.9m 40

41. Driving up standards….
Taking out the bad
guys leaves the
good guys ready to
invest and
develop…
All good for
economic
development and
resource security! 41

42. Prosecutions
42

43. Prosecutions
Types of illegal waste sites
43

44. Market Development
44

45. WRAP
+ Government funded organisation
+ Aims to help businesses, individuals and communities reap the
benefits of reducing waste, developing sustainable products and
using resources in an efficient way
+ Areas of action:
- Preventing food and drink waste
- Increasing the resource efficiency of products
- Increasing the resource efficiency of construction and refurbishment
projects
- Improving the collection of materials for recycling and reuse
- Helping SMEs to become more resource efficient
- Increasing the reuse and recycling of priority products
- Recycling organic waste and recovering energy
+ Market development is key!! 45

46. Encouraging waste use as a resource
+ What is waste?
- “All waste derived materials continue to be a waste until the point at
which the beneficial properties are realised”
+ When has waste been fully recovered?
- Distinct and marketable
- Suitable for use
- No greater risk to the environment or human health and than the virgin
equivalent
+ By identifying more and more secondary materials as no longer
waste, the industry and the regulator both maximise the value of
resources – allowing them to compete with primary materials
+ This can only be achieved by the regulator, market developer
and industry working together!
46

47. Quality …
+ Is about consistently delivering materials to the marketplace that
are
- effectively separated to meet customer requirements
- compliant with national regulations and policies….
- at a cost that is acceptable
47

48. Quality Supply Chain
Local
Authority
48

49. Quality is a major problem ….
+ Increasing concerns about quality from the end markets
+ Less guarantees from Chinese & Indian reprocessors
+ Returned loads from Indonesia and Brazil
+ EA has clamped down on ‘waste’ exports
+ UK and EU reprocessors continually setting the ‘bar’ higher in
terms of quality and consistency
+ Needs additional investment at MRF
+ Now looking at evolution of service provision …
+ Needs everyone to play their role …..
49

50. Pushing up quality ….
50

51. End of Waste – Evidence based ….
+ How can end of waste be demonstrated?
- Meeting a Quality Protocol
- Through an end of waste submission to the Environment Agency’s End of
Waste Panel
- Compliance with EU ‘end of waste’ Regulations
+ End of waste submission (site specific approach)
- Organisations can submit evidence to the EA to demonstrate that the
product they manufacture has ceased to be waste
+ EU have started to develop end of waste regulations which
define criteria for materials to achieve end of waste across all
member states
- Composts, digestates, RDF (fuels) etc.
51

52. End of Waste definition
+ Operational: End of waste from scrap regulations
+ In the pipeline: paper, glass, plastics (recyclate)
+ In progress: biodegradable waste subject to biological treatment
+ Test:
- “the waste has been converted into a distinct and marketable product”
- “the processed substance can be used in exactly the same way as a non-
waste”, and
- “the processed substance can be stored and used with no worse
environmental effects when compared to the raw material it is intended to
replace”
52

53. UK Quality Protocols
+ Framework which allows user to demonstrate that the
product(s) has ceased to be waste
Waste ceases to be
waste
Quality
Protocol
QUALITY
WASTE PRODUCT
53

54. Quality Protocols
+ Sets out the criteria which, if met, mean the product is no longer
a waste …
+ QP compliant material is free of any further waste permitting
- Aggregates from inert waste
- Compost
- Anaerobic digestate
- Biodiesel
- Processed fuel oil
+ Working well in the UK… stimulating new markets for materials
…. Drawing through more feedstock! 54

55. Compost Quality Protocol
Source-segregated Compost End Markets
Biowaste Product
Horticulture
Quality (including domestic
Protocol applications)
Soil-grown
horticulture
Land restoration &
Waste ceases to soft landscaping
be waste operations
+ Process itself still requires permit / exemption regardless of
whether the site is complying with the Compost QP
+ Material that doesn’t comply is a waste and so a permit or
exemption is needed for its use, and it must be moved in 55
accordance with Duty of Care requirements

56. Aggregates Quality Protocol
Inert C&D Recycled
waste aggregate
Quality
Protocol
Waste ceases to be
waste
+ Impact (year 1):
- Landfill diversion 21m tonnes
- Landfill disposal savings £158m
- Virgin raw material saved 41m tonnes
- Increased sales £324m
- Cost savings to business £155m
56
- Carbon savings 105,000 tonnes/ £5.5m

57. European Pathway to Zero Waste (EP0W)
+ Collaboration: WRAP and EA, funded by EU (Life+)
+ 8 Work Streams at all levels of the hierarchy – e.g. waste
exchange for reuse and infrastructure delivery
+ AEA project: identifying barriers to infrastructure for business
waste
- Industry engagement workshops (300 specialists involved)
- Bringing together a range of stakeholders – large operators, small
operators, industry organisations, advisors, funders
- Promoting partnership working
+ Critical piece of work @ present….
- Identify solutions and potential ‘implementors’
- Report reviewed by Defra to inform its infrastructure position
- Good platform for operators to be heard and demonstrate their facilities
57

58. In summary
58

59. Changing UK landscape
+ UK progresses has been driven by
- EU Landfill Directive
- Clear Strategy & policy Regulator
- Sensible Regulation
- Market Development
- Infrastructure support
- Increasing energy prices Govt Industry
- Public demand
- Reducing red tape
+ This has taken time…. WRAP - Market
Development
+ All parties have to work together
+ We have had to learn some lessons
and make some mistakes!
59

60. You must develop effective delivery tools
+ EU Landfill Directive
+ Landfill Tax
+ Landfill Bans (Scotland)
+ Mandatory Recycling Targets (Scotland & Wales)
+ Voluntary Agreements e.g. hospitality sector food waste
prevention
+ Incentives
- Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs)
- Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
- Feed In Tariffs (FITs)
+ Business Engagement, Education & Support…
- WRAP and ZWS BRE programmes ….
60
- Supporting logistics of collection & reproceesing

61. Joining up the dots ….
+ Landfill Directive could not deliver change in isolation…
+ Needed landfill tax to ‘wake things up’ @ all levels
- LAs wanted to change & Businesses were feeling the pinch
+ Needed technology development to treat new food waste
streams
- New Technology Demonstrator programme
- UK AD policy statement
+ Needed new markets for the products of composting / AD
- WRAP market development work
- R&D, and the Quality Protocols projects
- RHI / ROCs for energy production from biogenic materials
+ Needs enforcement & regulation
- Targeting bad sites, driving up the baseline 61

62. Next steps in the UK ….
+ More focused strategy and specific policy issues
- Landfill bans on organics in Scotland
- Mandatory collections (target materials)
+ More focused support
- Green Investment Bank
- Business engagement workshops
- Waste business support programmes (diversification)
+ More market development
- Closed loop policies
- Green purchasing & Recycled content
- Quality protocols
+ More appropriate regulation
- Driving up quality
62
- Focusing on performance

63. Building blocks …. Sustainable WM!!!!!
What is the pathway for Queensland to consider?
+ Good strategy & leadership
+ Regulatory framework in tune with the policy agenda
+ Appropriate enforcement / compliance
+ Market development
+ Quality improvement – codes & protocols
+ Education & Empowerment of all stakeholders
+ Funding to ‘kick start’ initiatives
63

64. 1 message …..
+ Avoid on-going policy uncertainty ….
+ How can BUSINESS make fundamental
investment decisions?
64

65. The last slide … Questions ?
Dr Adam Read
Global Practice Director
Waste Management & Resource Efficiency
07968 707 239
adam.read@aeat.co.uk
www.aea.co.uk
65