Regional Recycling Activity

Waste facts

The Northwest recycling sector is already worth over £1 billion a year, and yet only recycles around 15% of municipal waste and 35% of commercial and industrial (C&I) waste.

Recycling targets set by Government and adopted in the Northwest Regional Waste Strategy require a three fold increase in the quantity of municipal waste recycled by 2015. (Source http://www.envirolinknorthwest.co.uk/Envirolink/Remade-sig.nsf?OpenDatabase).

This provides plenty of potential for further development of the recycling sector in this region.

Market development

The Regional Waste Strategy provides detailed targets, information on the waste stream and underpins land use policies. Recommendations relating specifically to market development include:

• the setting up of a regional organisation (Remade Northwest) to co-ordinate and oversee market development and to co-ordinate information about opportunities for reuse and recycling of waste materials across the Northwest.
• recognition that some markets for recyclates already exist in the Northwest and are relatively stable and mature, e.g. paper and scrap metals.

Local markets

• There is a strong wood reprocessing sector, with a large quantity of the recycled wood being used in local panelboard manufacturing and in equestrian and landscaping products.
• The paper sector in the Northwest is significant and paper recycling is well established with most councils offering a kerbside collection.
• One of the UK’s three flat glass producers is based in the region. Although there is only limited recycling of flat glass currently, there is potential for more. The opening of a new container recycling plant in Cheshire, Quinn, will further increase demand for recycled glass.
• Organics, such as garden and kitchen waste, make up 40% of municipal waste. Brownfield regeneration and topsoil manufacture offer end markets for compost products.
• The Northwest has the country’s biggest concentration of plastics reprocessors and manufacturers, although as yet kerbside collection rates haven't reflected the availablity of local markets.
  

Regional market development

WRAP has supported the NWDA and Envirolink Northwest in the development of their Waste Treatment Centre of Excellence, an innovative project bringing together a virtual partnership from public and private sector organisations to deliver activities supporting the development of the region’s waste management and waste technology industry.

This includes: 

• research and development,
• development of markets for recyclable wastes,
• pre-commercialisation demonstration, and
• supply chain interactions.

WRAP continue to work closely with Envirolink Northwest and their Remade Northwest programme to support the development of a complementary approach to regional market development.