Doncaster Waste Strategy 2009 - Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why does Doncaster MBC require a Waste Management Strategy?

Households in Doncaster produce over 178,000 tonnes of waste a year.

We are committed to improving quality of life and preserving the environment and alongside this we are facing more challenging European and UK recycling and composting targets.

So we must:

Reduce waste produced and

Increase the amount reused, recycled and composted.

2. What is the Doncaster Waste Strategy (DWS)?

It is a plan to show how Doncaster Council will manage waste in the future – waste from households, council activities and some local businesses. The strategy sets out what we want to achieve and the types of services and technologies we will need to use to reach our goals.

3. What are the aims of the DWS?

The Strategy aims to continue to treat waste as a resource from which we can gain greater value, create jobs and reduce our impact on the environment.

Our plans are based around the following steps:

i)  We will seek to reduce the amount of waste being created

ii)  We will seek to re-use items that can be put to good use

iii)  We will seek to recycle and compost as much waste as we can

iv) We will treat the remaining waste to reduce our reliance on landfill and minimise the environmental impact of waste disposal.

4. What period of time are we talking about with the DWS – is it a permanent plan or a short-term fix?

It is a long-term Strategy dealing with how Doncaster will manage waste up to 2025 and beyond.

5. What Happens to Our Waste Now?

In 2004 Doncaster developed the ‘Zero Waste Strategy’, which included extensive consultation with the public. A key finding was that residents were keen to recycle more but wanted to have user-friendly facilities and information about how to recycle.

Since then we have introduced and publicised services so that:

l 98% of households have a weekly green box collection for recycling

l All households with gardens have a fortnightly green bin collection of garden waste for composting

l All households have a fortnightly collection for remaining (residual) waste. There are more facilities to recycle at our Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC’s) and at neighbourhood recycling points.

Residents have responded to these and the amounts of waste that we send for recycling and composting increased dramatically; in 2007/08, of the 178,000 tonnes of waste produced 34% was recycled or composted – the remaining 66% was sent to landfill sites.

6. Why do anything at all – why can't we just carry on as we are?

Compared to other similar Councils this is good performance – but we face challenges that mean we need to do more:

l The cost of landfilling waste has increased significantly – and further increases are expected

l The government has set us targets for reducing the amount of biodegradable waste (anything that rots) we send to landfill. If we fail to meet these targets we face penalties that could run into millions of pounds so diverting waste from landfill is our main priority particularly if it is biodegradable.

7. What has it got to do with me?

The amount of household waste created in Doncaster each year is everybody's responsibility. The council will set up mechanisms to collect it and will ensure that it can be properly treated and disposed of – but how much of each we do is determined by the amount produced by residents. So by reducing the waste created in the first place and increasing recycling rates, we have lower levels of disposal and therefore fewer treatment plants and less cost to the taxpayer.

8. Where will waste be managed?

The Strategy establishes how we plan to manage Doncaster’s waste in the future. It is likely to result in the requirement for some new waste management facilities to be built. The Councils of Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham are working together to develop a Joint Strategic Waste Development Plan Document that will include proposals and policies to guide where new facilities will be built.

The latest consultation document for this plan is available at; www.doncaster.gov.uk/wastedpd

9. What are the different types of waste management treatment facilities?

Biological Treatment Facilities

Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Treats biodegradable organic waste in an enclosed vessel using bacteria in the absence of oxygen. This process breaks down the waste, generating useable products including: biogas, which can be burnt to produce energy; fibre, for soil conditioning; and liquor, which can be used as a liquid fertilizer.

Composting (‘in vessel’) Micro-organisms break down biodegradable waste using oxygen, leaving a residue (compost), water and carbon dioxide. Waste is shredded in to fine particles before being piled into containers usually in rows. Air is allowed to pass over the waste, often fan assisted and using mechanical devices to turn the waste and cause it to decompose. Undertaking composting under cover (‘in vessel’) allows for a greater degree of control of the process. The resulting compost is a useful soil improver, which improves soil properties and provides some nutrient value.

Thermal Treatment Facilities

Pyrolysis Organic waste is heated at high temperatures in conditions of limited or no oxygen to produce a mixture of gaseous and liquid fuels and a solid inert residue (mainly carbon).

Gasification A process of heating carbon based wastes in the presence of air or steam, which converts the carbon to a burnable gas called syngas, leaving a solid residue.

Both processes are considered as ‘staged combustion’ and so are, to a degree, more controlled than incineration, making the gases generated by the treatment of waste more likely to be cleaner. However, relatively few pyrolysis and gasification systems have been successfully deployed in Europe and these appear to be those which bear a close resemblance to incineration (the extent of ‘staging’ is limited).

Incineration The burning of waste material at high temperatures with the aim of generating energy – electricity and/or heat – from the process. During combustion a wider range of gases are emitted, including carbon dioxide, acid gases, particulate matter and dioxins. All of these have the potential to cause harm, however elaborate systems have been developed for cleaning up the gases before they are released into the atmosphere. ‘Residues’ left over from the cleaning up process are hazardous and are usually deposited in hazardous waste landfills.

Open Air Facilities

Landfill Holes in the ground that are filled with waste. In some modern landfills the filling continues above ground level forming ‘landraises’. Landfills are lined with a membrane (the liner) to contain the waste and the liquid pollution generated by the decomposition of waste (called leachate). In landfills the biodegradable material degrades in the absence of air. As a result, as with anaerobic digestion, biogas is generated, including methane, carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds. Landfills are equipped with systems to capture the gas generated, with the aim of using it to generate energy.

Composting (‘open air windrow’) Micro-organisms breaks down biodegradable waste using oxygen, leaving a residue (compost), water and carbon dioxide. Waste is shredded in to fine particles before being piled into long rows (windrows). Air is allowed to pass over the waste because they are in the open air, and using mechanical devices to turn the waste causes the waste to decompose.

Sorting facilities

Transfer Stations A facility where solid waste materials are transferred from small vehicles to large trucks for efficient transport to disposal sites.

Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) The sorting, separation, compaction and storage of dry recyclables before sending on to specialist re-processors.