Waste
In 2001, the South West generated 20.3 million tonnes of waste (just over 4 tonnes per person) of which:
- 2.6 million tonnes (522 kg per person) were Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), of which 97% was household waste.
- 5 million tonnes were Commercial & Industrial (C&I) waste.
- 12.6 million tonnes were Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste.
Construction and Demolition (C&D) was the largest quantity of waste generated in the South West, 12.6 million tonnes - 62% of total waste generated. At 23%, concrete made up the largest quantity of C&D waste. 31% of MSW was organic waste, which is likely to include food and garden waste. Table 10 provides a detailed breakdown of waste generated in the South West, by sector and type.
| Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) | Commercial & Industrial (C&I) | Construction & Demolition (C&D) | ||||||
| Waste type | Total MSW | % of total MSW | Waste type | Total C&I | % of total C&I | Waste type | Total C&D | % of total C&D |
| Total MSW | 2,574 | 100% | Total C&I* | 5,083 | 100% | Total C&D | 12,620 | 100% |
| of which… | of which… | of which… | ||||||
| Organics+++ | 798 | 31% | Paper & card | 477 | 9% | Timber | 1,426 | 11% |
| Paper & card | 540 | 21% | Food | 242 | 5% | Concrete | 2,896 | 23% |
| Other combustibles | 283 | 11% | General*** | 2,586 | 51% | Inert | 2,215 | 18% |
| Non-combustibles | 206 | 8% | Other general & biodegradable+ | 795 | 16% | Asphalt (demolition) | 947 | 8% |
| Plastic | 180 | 7% | Metals & scrap equipment | 291 | 6% | Ceramic (construction) | 189 | 2% |
| Glass | 154 | 6% | Contaminated general | 280 | 6% | Insulation (construction) | 158 | 1% |
| Metal | 154 | 6% | Mineral wastes & residues | 44 | 1% | Plastic | 1,178 | 9% |
| Fines** | 129 | 5% | Chemical & other | 368 | 7% | Packaging | 1,979 | 16% |
| Textiles | 51 | 2% | Metal | 522 | 4% | |||
| Electrical items | 51 | 2% | Plaster & cement | 196 | 2% | |||
| Hazardous items | 26 | 1% | Other++ | 915 | 7% | |||
| * The Environment Agency's (2000a) original C&I total (5.2 million tonnes) included some C&D waste. This has been removed, as it was accounted for in the C&D waste. ** Fines include dust, ash and cinders. *** General waste includes tyres, Waste Electric & Electronic Equipment (WEEE), fluorescent tubes and lamps. + General and biodegradable waste includes wood waste, plasterboard, rock and soil. ++ Other C&D includes demolition, ceramic and insulation waste, and construction asphalt waste. +++ Organics include food, kitchen and garden waste. Note : Totals may differ due to rounding. Note: Due to data limitations, it was not possible to categorise the different waste types into the same categories for all three sectors. |
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| Sources: Environment Agency, 2000a; Environment Agency & RTAB, 2004; Poll, 2003; Reid, 2003 and Symonds Group, 2003 | ||||||||
Waste management methods used in the South West are shown in Table 11. The majority of waste generated in the South West in 2001, was sent to landfill (12.1 million tonnes), with 5.2 million tonnes recycled (26% of total waste generated). The best recovery (recycling and reuse) rate was achieved by the C&D sector, at 39%. The C&I sector had a recovery rate of 32%. In both cases recycling was relatively high at 28% and 27% respectively. In comparison, only 11% of MSW was being recycled.
| Sector | Total generated | Landfilled | Recycled | Reused | Composted | Incinerated* | Other*** |
| Total waste | 20,277 | 12,126 | 5,239 | 1,625 | 215 | 3 | 1,069 |
| % of total waste | 100% | 60% | 26% | 8% | 1% | 0.02% | 5% |
| Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) | 2,574 | 2,176 | 277 | ** | 117 | 3 | 0 |
| % of total MSW waste | 100% | 85% | 11% | ** | 5% | 0.1% | 0% |
| Commercial & Industrial (C&I) | 5,083 | 2,290 | 1,382 | 245 | 98 | ** | 1,069 |
| % of total C&I waste | 100% | 45% | 27% | 5% | 2% | ** | 21% |
| Construction & Demolition (C&D) | 12,620 | 7,660 | 3,580 | 1,380 | 0 | ** | 0 |
| % of total C&D waste | 100% | 61% | 28% | 11% | 0% | ** | 0% |
| * Includes energy from waste. ** Not available. *** Other includes waste management methods such as thermal, treatment and transfer. Note: Totals may differ due to rounding. |
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| Sources: Environment Agency, 2000a; Environment Agency & RTAB, 2004; Poll, 2003; Reid, 2003 and Symonds Group, 2003. | |||||||
Composting
is the aerobic process by which biologically degradable wastes are broken down to form a stable material containing organic matter and plant nutrients.
Recycling
is the process of collecting, sorting, cleansing, treating and re-constituting materials that would otherwise become waste, and returning them to the economic stream as raw materials for new, reused or reconstituted products.
Reuse
is the recovery or re-application of a product for uses similar or identical to its original application, without manufacturing or preparation processes that significantly alter the original product.