Regional Recycling Activity

Regional Waste Strategy

The Regional Assembly’s aim is that by 2020 over 45% of waste is recycled and re-used and less than 20% is landfilled.

The Regional Waste Strategy proposes the development of high value markets for recycled products as key to how the South West region can earn money and create jobs by increasing the amount of recycling and recovering this value.

In order to achieve this ambitious goal the Regional Waste Strategy adopts the principles of the waste hierarchy:

• to minimise waste production and reuse, recycle, and recover as much value from waste as possible, with disposal to landfill as the last resort.

(Source: The Regional Waste Strategy for the South West 2004-2020, South West Regional Assembly)

Waste Facts

In the region, 2.5 million tonnes of domestic waste (80%) is sent to landfill each year.

In addition, 5.5 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste; and 12.5 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste are also disposed of in landfill sites each year in the south west.

However,  

• about 350,000 tonnes of recyclable materials are collected from households most of which is processed outside the region; and
• approximately 150,000 tonnes of organic garden waste is collected, the majority of which composted in the region.

(Source: The Regional Waste Strategy for the South West 2004-2020, South West Regional Assembly)

Markets for recycled materials

WRAP is currently supporting South West RDA in planning additional, regionally focused, recyclate market development activity.There are opportunities to build upon the current waste management infrastructure, in order to develop economically and environmentally sustainable recycling markets in the south west.

There is also the potential to increase recycling options across a range of sectors, for example the continuing growth of in vessel composting technology in the agricultural sector, increasing the regions capacity to recycle organic waste streams.