eg magazine sustainability, resource efficiency & climate change

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/landfill-restrictions/index.htm

The Government has launched a consultation exercise to seek views on different options to restrict wastes (paper and card; food; textiles; metals; wood; garden waste; glass; plastics; and electrical and electronic equipment) being sent to landfill.  including: doing nothing and relying on current measures such as landfill tax to continue to reduce the amount we landfill; introducing bans on landfilling on their own or accompanied by a requirement for waste to be sorted; introducing a sorting or tougher pre-treatment requirement without a landfill ban; and introducing producer responsibility requirements for certain wastes. considers the case for restricting sending the following types of waste to landfill. Other related report which have also been published include:

A consultation document on how the UK meets the EU Landfill Directive targets to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill.  In future the targets will extend beyond waste managed by local authorities to include more commercial waste managed by the private sector, but this will not mean local authority landfill allowances or their obligations to collect waste will change. See http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/landfill-diversion/index.htm. Comments on both these consultation documents should be submitted by 10 June 2010.

Research into how a landfill ban might work in practice in the UK has also been published. The research, carried out by Eunomia, looked at the practicalities of implementing landfill bans in the UK. The study has examined the environmental and economic costs and benefits and practical feasibility of banning or restricting a range of materials, products and wastes by property type from landfill. It has been found that combining materials-based restrictions with a requirement to sort offers the greatest benefits and is most feasible in the UK policy context. The wastes which were found to offer the greatest potential for benefits from bans or restrictions are: paper/card; food; textiles; metals; wood; green; and glass. Landfill bans: Feasibility research http://www.wrap.org.uk/downloads/FINAL_Landfill_Bans_Feasibility_Research.1a3dc802.8796.pdf

A Strategy for Hazardous Waste Management in England, which will help drive hazardous waste away from landfill, and promote prevention, recycling and recovery.  It should also help the provision of infrastructure for the management of this waste by providing clarity on the principles that should apply. http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/hazwaste/documents/policy.pdf