Making a real difference.
Beyond Waste was commissioned by Remade South East to undertake research into quantities of bulky waste materials arising in the South East, and possible recycling routes.
In the process of our extensive inquiries we became aware of a major initiative from the carpet sector to develop a national plan to promote recycling.
With support from the ERDF-funded project, Alan Potter developed contacts with the national body, and brokered a meeting between it and our client Remade South East. Alan Potter was then invited to sit on the national working group developing the national plan - or MAP.
From attending two meetings Alan identified an opportunity for an ERDF project partner, Countrystyle Recycling, to link into a trial project funded by WRAP and BRe, with material sourced from John Lewis' store at Bluewater.
The trial is due to start in early March and is to run for 2 months.
Distributed heat supply report
Beyond Waste has just completed a study for East Sussex County Council looking at the potential for establishing distributed heat supply for prospective Energy from Waste Facilities.
This was commissioned on the back of the regional review of potential, and focussed on developing opportunities for heat offtake.
It is being presented as a supporting document to the current consultation of the Waste & Minerals Development Framework Options paper, and can be accessed at the ESCC website [http://consult.eastsussex.gov.uk/portal/wm/waste__minerals_core_strategy_preferred_strategy/csps?tab=files]. It is document 33, with supporting maps as documents 34 and 35.
Beyond Waste completes assessment of long-distance flows of recyclate.
In an article in Waste Management World, Alan Potter talks about a recently completed project looking at recycling markets across Europe and carbon footprinting long-distance flows of second-life commodities.
The work concludes that while local recycling of plastic and paper has the smallest carbon footprint, sending materials to China produces the biggest carbon saving due to the heavy use of coal for electricity production. This suggests that if the UK were to take responsibility for the carbon emissions associated with its imports of manufacturing goods - as Sweden has started to do - then supplying recyclables makes a contribution to reducing that footprint.
It also looks at flows of Tetrapak from UK to Sweden for recycling, and finds that it would be better to burn it locally then recycle at distance and calls for urgent exploration of local recycling solutions for these materials.
Finally, when considering long distance movement of wood chip for making panel-board over local use for energy, it finds in favour of energy use and notes that current EU recycling targets actually play against what may be the best environmental option for management.
It finishes with a call for the gathering of detailed emission data on plant performance abroad to ensure that all reprocessing routes are operating on a level environmental playing field.
The article [http://www.waste-management-world.com/display_article/344586/123/CRTIS/none/none/1/Carbon-footprinting/] and the full report [http://www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/sustainability_waste.html] are both available online.
Crisis: What Crisis? 'Shock-proofing' the UK Second-life Commodity Market.
Alan Potter's thoughts on the current recycling markets collapse as published in Material Recycling Week.
Beyond Waste's review of plastic waste arisings and recycling routes in Kent and Medway.
Beyond Waste was commissioned to undertake a review of existing data on plastic arisings, understand existing management routes and make recommendations on how the recycling chain for second life plastics could be improved. It is estimated that 123,000 tonnes are produced per annum.
This was a project funded through the INTERREG IIIa Sustainable Eco-enterprise Programme [http://www.ecoenterprise.eu/ecoenterprise/public/phase2/download_phase2.asp] (the resulting report is available as item 3).
Beyond Waste's pioneering engagement work cited by The Environment Council.
The Environment Council developed a set of guidelines [http://www.the-environment-council.org.uk/better-engagement-in-the-waste-sector-2.html] to help waste practitioners implement successful and effective engagement processes, derived from numerous waste practitioners' own experiences. Originally published in 2003, the engagement guidelines have recently been revised and updated to account for recent legislative changes.
Designing engagement in the waste sector [http://www.the-environment-council.org.uk/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_download/gid,41/Itemid,64/] (PDF, 2MB) describes how to design an appropriate and considered engagement process including information on levels of engagement, stakeholder analysis, methods and timing of engagement (the Beyond Waste project coverage is referenced at pp. 37 - 38).
Background. Kent County Council recognised that the ability to deliver the MWDF will rely to a large extent on the level of cooperation achieved with, and the quality of information provided by, the waste management sector. To this end, Beyond Waste, a consulting company, was commissioned to engage directly with operators that may have an interest in Kent. The process involved a face-to-face interview with the person in each organisation best able to talk about their company's aspirations. Recognising potential sensitivities of the information disclosed, a process was agreed to ensure that the proceedings of all interviews are retained on a confidential basis. This is the start of a period of active engagement between the county and the sector, and any specific sites or proposals that operators wished to see promoted through the Kent WDF will be taken forward to be tested through the plan-making process.
European Waste Project to inform European Parliament review of Waste Framework Directive.
Since Beyond Waste completed work on the first phase of the European recycling markets project in 2006 (PDFs: Part I [http://www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/our_work/planning/sust_nat_res/recycling_capacity-oct06-part1.pdf], Part II [http://www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/our_work/planning/sust_nat_res/recycling_capacity-oct06-part2.pdf]), the issue of exports of recyclable materials has gained political profile. Questions have been asked in the UK House of Commons and Caroline Jackson, Euro MEP, has gone on record as expressing concern about the sustainability of current arrangements (movement of materials to China in particular).
The general call is for outlets for materials to be determined on a life cycle assessment basis - something which the second phase of this EWM project, to be undertaken in 2007, will be specifically addressing. Having identified a common concern Beyond Waste approached Caroline Jackson's office to inform her of its work.
The MEP's office responded as follows: "Thank you very much for these most informative documents. They will be most useful for the forecast second reading of the Waste Framework Directive". They have also requested that they be kept informed as the second phase develops.
Beyond Waste report drives hazardous waste debate at South East Plan EIP.
The South East Regional Plan is undergoing an examination in public (EIP). The waste-related chapters were subject to scrutiny in early December. One key area was the need for hazardous waste management capacity in the region, which a study undertaken by Beyond Waste underlined.
At the EIP session dealing with the issue the Beyond Waste report was unanimously accepted as the basis for discussion, which then focused on how the findings of the report should be translated into the regional plan's policies.
Beyond Waste parachutes in to help out Government.
The Government recently undertook a consultation into proposals on improving the interface between planning and pollution control permitting. Alan Potter of Beyond Waste was personally invited to attend a consultation session and to facilitate a break-out group.
Following up from this, Beyond Waste has now been commissioned to process and analyse the outputs of the consultation exercise, with the intention of informing development of options to go forward to Ministers.
UK not the laggard of Europe when it comes to export of recyclable materials, Beyond Waste research reveals.
Beyond Waste has reported on a pan-European research project into recycling markets (PDFs: Part I [http://www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/our_work/planning/sust_nat_res/recycling_capacity-oct06-part1.pdf], Part II [http://www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/our_work/planning/sust_nat_res/recycling_capacity-oct06-part2.pdf]). The research built on findings from another project, undertaken for SEEDA, looking at recycling markets in the South East of England. It sought, amongst other things, to establish how the balance of reprocessing capacity and exports compared with other EU states and regions.
The research found that dependency on exports for certain materials is not confined to the UK. In fact, analysis of dependency reveals that on a tonnage basis the UK is far from the least self-sufficient country.
Alan Potter will be presenting the findings to an international meeting later this month. Beyond Waste has also been commissioned to undertake further research to understand the factors and drivers behind this phenomenon further.
Beyond Waste predictions on missing hazardous waste confirmed.
Eighteen months ago, Beyond Waste alerted the House of Commons Environment Committee to the possibility that substantial quantities of hazardous waste appeared to have gone missing.
At the time, the Government responded by trying to dismiss our report with no substantial evidence, preferring to rely on anecdotal evidence that either waste had never existed (claiming that it had been historically overconsigned despite Environment Agency officers' staunch defence of the data), or it had conveniently disappeared (through immediate minimisation).
Beyond Waste queried the Government's claims and challenged it to provide the evidence to substantiate them - to no avail.
Now, after a year and a half of investigation, the Environment Agency has confirmed that hazardous waste is in fact being misclassified at treatment sites, and disposed of incorrectly at non hazardous waste landfill sites, just as Beyond Waste had suggested.
The situation is so serious that the Environment Agency intends to outlaw the sites where the mixing activity is taking place in the next few years. This creates a significant potential vacuum in treatment capacity that will need to be filled.
For the full story, see http://www.endsreport.com/index.cfm?action=report.article&articleID=15989 [http://www.endsreport.com/index.cfm?action=report.article&articleID=15989] (registration required).
Beyond Waste advises BBC on waste hierarchy.
Beyond Waste advised BBC South East on the key issues around waste in the South East. The BBC were referred to Beyond Waste by the regional development agency, SEEDA.
Alan Potter outlined the most pressing issues around:
Read the full story at BBC News. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/politics_show/5080926.stm]
Beyond Waste addresses international study tour.
Alan Potter shared findings with waste professionals from six countries who visited the region as part of a study tour to showcase the region's good practice in recycling, hosted by the South East England Regional Assembly. Beyond Waste has been commissioned to undertake a review of European markets as part of a two-year project. The project aims to learn from other countries and share good practice.
More information on the project at http://www.waste3c.org/ [http://www.waste3c.org/].
Beyond Waste talks rubbish.
Beyond Waste supported a vibrant local community event organised by eco-footprints [http://www.ecofootprints.com/].
Alan Potter shared ideas on how we can all make a difference - become a smart shopper, buy with recycling in mind, ways to recycle, where it goes when it leaves the comfort of our homes, and what's done with it.
He shared the platform with other people who are passionate about creating a planet-friendly home and garden. See http://www.ecofootprints.com/ [http://www.ecofootprints.com/] for further details.
Beyond Waste secures planning and licence in less than 3 months.
Beyond Waste was commissioned by Kingston Transport to secure a waste management licence and planning consent for a new skip waste recycling centre in Lewes, Sussex.
Beyond Waste says: "using pre-application discussion to build mutual understanding with the regulatory authorities, preparing concise and clear applications, and guiding the applications each step of the way, ensured timely delivery. Robust negotiation on the draft conditions ensured clarity of purpose and an outcome that meets everyone's needs."
Minister asks Beyond Waste for more.
At a high-level meeting organised by the Fabian Society, Alan Potter passed on to the Minister for Waste and Recycling Ben Bradshaw the key messages received from the public on the strategy consultation Beyond Waste worked on for Buckinghamshire. These are that the public:
The Minister invited Beyond Waste to submit further information about its work to inform the development of the national waste strategy.
Alan also called for more sophisticated measures of performance for the agencies like WRAP and NISP being charged with delivery of landfill diversion and recycling targets, saying that tonnage encouraged targeting of heavy materials rather than wastes that provide greater environmental benefit when diverted from landfill.
Beyond Waste launches carbon footprinting for projects.
As part of our ongoing commitment to treading lightly, Beyond Waste now monitors carbon emissions generated during the course of executing projects.
We also calculate the emissions savings we achieve through the more conscious choices we take in project delivery. We provide each report with an auditable carbon production figure which can then be used to calculate our annual carbon offset.
Last year, two trees were planted in the Orbost Forest on the Isle of Skye to offset our production (map and certificate as Word document [/doc/CarbonOffsetCert2005.doc]).
Beyond Waste completes pioneering sector engagement project for Kent Waste Development Framework process.
Kent County Council is currently progressing the preparation of its Waste Development Framework (WDF). They recognised that the ability to deliver the WDF will rely to a large extent on the level of co-operation achieved with and the quality of information provided by the waste management sector.
To this end, Beyond Waste was commissioned to engage directly with operators that may have an interest in Kent. The process involved a face-to-face interview with the person in each organisation best able to talk about their company's aspirations. Recognising potential sensitivities of the information disclosed, we devised and agreed a process with the client to ensure that the proceedings of all interviews are retained on a confidential basis. A summary report of all interviews (PDF) was produced.
This is the start of a period of active engagement between the county and the sector and any specific sites or proposals that operators wished to see promoted through the Kent WDF will be taken forward to be tested through the plan-making process.