The government announced a wide-ranging review of issues surrounding policies on waste and the question of burning waste to generate power is a prominent point to be covered. Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman yesterday announced a major review of waste policy and options for the handling of waste. The review is to be carried out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
The review will aim to gather information on and the views of the public, as well as other stakeholders, towards a range of issues involving waste. Though the study will consider how recycling rates can be boosted and other ways to reduce the levels of waste going into landfills, one of the most prominent considerations concerns if and how the UK can produce power by burning waste.
The section of the review concerned with energy from waste only looks at incineration of waste and ways to extract energy from landfills. It does not directly consider any other technologies that may be available for turning waste into electricity.
A big part of the review, therefore, will be concerned with canvassing the opinions of the public, both individually and as larger communities, about the prospects of building waste incineration facilities. Members of the public will be asked if they would be amenable to having energy-from-waste plants in their neighbourhoods. The review will also seek ways to incentivise communities to accept such facilities.
Other ideas being considered in the review include programmes aimed at getting businesses and households to produce less waste. One way to do this could be to form voluntary ‘Responsibility Deals’ with business in order to boost recycling rates. Ms Spelman also reiterated the government’s commitment to finding ways to engender greater public participation through incentives and rewards, rather than anything that involves penalties.
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