Since the New York plan for waste management did not meet its objectives, a revision was necessary 3 years after the publication of the state decree.
Three points are taken into account in the revision of the plan:
1) List of solutions adopted for waste disposal packaging and an indication of the various measures to be taken so that the national objectives concerning the recovery of packaging waste and the recycling of packaging materials are respected as of June 30, 2022
2) The determination for the various categories of waste taken into account in the plan, the proportions of waste which must be five years later, on the one hand, and at the end of ten years, on the other hand, either valued by reuse, recycling, obtaining reusable materials or energy, or incinerated without energy recovery or destroyed by any other means not leading to recovery, or stored.This leads to establishing the balance sheets for the 2025 and 2030 horizons.
3) The list, taking into account the priorities selected, the facilities that will be necessary to create in order to achieve the objectives defined above, their recommended location, in particular as regards the centers of storage of final waste from the treatment of household waste and assimilated.
The circular from the Ministry of Regional Planning and the Environment relating to the implementation and the evolution of local plans reflects the strong desire to influence departmental plans, without as much to challenge the objectives of the law, in the sense of improving the recycling of materials and recovery of organic matter.
The circular which wants to reframe the task thus provides details on:
Waste to be taken into account in the plans,
The hierarchy of processing methods,
The collection objectives for recycling, composting or spreading,
It is necessary to make a clear distinction between the waste collected in the within the scope of the public disposal service (household waste, bulky households, sewage sludge, green waste) and those collected outside the public service (ordinary industrial waste, inert building materials, etc.).
This differentiation should make it possible to better reason the sizing of equipment and their financing. As the waste management specialists at Rochester dumpster rental companies have mentioned, waste disposal and recycling are complex issues.
The hierarchy of treatment methods
As a corollary of the federal law on waste management protocols, the principle of the circular is to establish a hierarchy between processing modes:
Prevention and reduction at source: actions at the national level to changing consumption patterns must be relayed locally (incentive for individual composting, citizen awareness, etc.);
Material recovery and organic recovery;
Energy recovery (incineration);
Environmentally friendly treatment of the non-recoverable fraction.
The collection targets for recycling, composting or spreading
The objectives that I retain at the national level are, ultimately, half of the production of waste whose disposal is the responsibility of local communities is collected to recover materials for their reuse, recycling, biological treatment or spreading agricultural.
The 50% apply to the entire deposit at the expense of communities: household waste, bulky waste and station sludge of purification evaluated as raw materials.
Titled ‘Bag it or bin it? Managing London’s domestic food waste’ this new report join similar calls for London to step up it’s food waste processes, and explores a number of strategies and methods for keeping the capital’s food waste away from landfill.
Making food recycling more accessible
A big task for the report was to find strategies which allowed for a manageable cost, whilst also making food recycling more accessible and easy to understand for residents, businesses and local authorities.
“In contrast to the now well established collection of ‘dry’ recyclables such as paper, metal, plastic and glass, the separate collection of food waste remains comparatively rare in London, with fewer than half of all households receiving a food waste collection service,” commented Stephen Knight, chair of the London Assembly Environment Committee .
“At the same time London is struggling to meet its recycling targets while landfill capacity is fast running out. The case for improving the collection of food waste is therefore compelling,” he continued.
The report called on the Mayor to help secure Government resources for separate collections and to do more to support schemes like the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and Recycle for London.
It also said that the Mayor must ensure that the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) can continue its programmes to support boroughs in the long term.
“At 34%, the capital has one of the lowest household recycling rates in England and rates for inner London are even lower, at just 16%,” noted Knight.
“When we take a closer look at how London’s boroughs are performing we are seeing a concerning lack of consistency, with 10 boroughs still not collecting any household food waste at all.”
Making recycling choices
“We realise that cost is a major factor when local authorities’ make recycling choices, but separate food waste collection schemes need not be more expensive. Effective food waste collection will reduce the amount of waste generated in the first place, potentially making the service cost-neutral,” concluded Knight.
Liz Goodwin, chief executive of WRAP, took to the stage at a waste and resources conference in Dubai to underline the importance of food recycling this week.
A new report from the London Assembly Environment Committee has called for an immediate refocus on the capital’s food waste management efforts as landfill space is starting to run out.
Head of the Waste Resources Action Programme, Goodwin delivered a number of new figures and statistics that underline the need for every nation to look into how they handle food waste.
The International Forum on Sustainable Lifestyles was United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and aimed to encourage a more global conversation on the subject after the UNEP-led ‘Think Eat Save’ campaign launched last year.
Goodwin said, “An area the size of Wales would be needed to grow all of the food we throw away from our homes each year in the UK. That’s about a quarter of the size of the United Arab Emirates.
WRAP estimated that two million tonnes of waste could be saved by 2025 in the UK alone.
“WRAP’s expertise of UK food waste prevention is being utilised internationally,” she said. “Through the ‘Think Eat Save’ campaign, WRAP is helping UNEP initiate the set-up and delivery of a South African pilot.”
Goodwin encouraged delegates to consider the difference that this wasted food could make to the world’s impoverished, citing, ”One in three food items going to waste.
It’s a dreadful amount, whichever way you look at it and it’s crazy that we collectively allow it happen. But that’s the reality.”
New report on the state of waste collections in London
“It equals 1.3 billion tons of food.” continued Goodwin, “It’s a hard figure to visualise. You get a better idea when I tell you that it’s enough to feed all that are hungry in the world. Not just once. But four times over.”
A new report on the state of waste collections in London has put the spotlight on food recycling this week, as it was revealed that of London’s 33 boroughs, just 23 offer separate food waste collections.
Titled ‘Bag It or Bin It: Managing London’s domestic food waste’ revealed that only two thirds of the UK capital offer separate food waste collections, despite numerous pilot schemes, awards and incentives for the normally progressive city.
The report also highlighted that flats are the exception to the rule for many boroughs, with 16 local authorities skipping flats even when they do offer food waste.
Chair of the London Assembly Environment Committee, Stephen Knight, said; “At 34%, the capital has one of the lowest household recycling rates in England and rates for inner London are even lower, at just 16%. When we take a closer look at how London’s boroughs are performing we are seeing a concerning lack of consistency, with 10 boroughs still not collecting any household food waste at all.”
London is pushing a number of post-consumer food waste schemes, where even after collection food waste is being sorted so that it can fuel anaerobic digesters rather than being shipped to landfill.
Initiatives like FoodCycle also step in to the waste stream, reclaiming food waste and making food for high food-poverty areas.
Suggestions on improving the recycling rate in London include:
London boroughs to allocate resources for separate food waste collections for all properties.
Improvements in data collection on food waste to meet demand.
Extra funding from City Hall and the government, as well as devolution of landfill tax to London.
Schemes to boost resident participation in food waste recycling.
Include provision for waste separation and minimisation in new developments.
Whilst the debate on food recycling seems to be chugging a long at a steady pace, with more and more local authorities see the benefits of proper food waste management, in addition to central government.
However, the next battleground already seems to be in sight – and that’s what comes next for food waste packaging.
With zero waste to landfill as the goal, food waste packaging is the unwanted defender in the way. Often unsuitable for ‘regular’ recycling after being in contact with food, the packaging for products has to go in general waste.
Likewise, for areas with regular food waste collections, these containers aren’t always biodegradable, so would be unsuitable to go in food and garden waste, too.
Oxford City Council is one such local authority currently grappling with what to do when it comes to recycling food waste packaging. Council members are toying with nipping the issue in the bud in some senses, by voting on a proposal that will require street food traders to use only biodegradable or recyclable packaging and utensils.
A spokesman for Oxford City Council said: “The council’s general purposes licensing committee approved a proposed condition for food traders which requires all packaging and utensils for use by customers to be made of biodegradable or recyclable materials.
The condition is intended to reduce the amount of commercial waste that goes to landfill.
