What happens to our rubbish?

What happens to our rubbish?

The answer to this question really depends on us. If we recycle the 'right' things in the right containers then our rubbish will be recycled or composted. If we do not sort our rubbish, or throw the 'wrong' things into the wrong containers; the chances are it will be sent to landfill. It really is as simple as that.

The good news is that a recent survey found that 90% of people in this country recycle rather than throwing things away.

Our rubbish is generally treated in a number of ways depending on the type, and what we do with it.  Our rubbish could be;

Reused

Recycled

Composted

Sent to landfill or incineration.

See the reduce, reuse, recycle, compost, landfill, energy from waste pages on this website to find out more about these processes. Click here to download a poster which shows what could happen to our rubbish.

How much rubbish do we produce?

In Devon we throw away approximately half a tonne of rubbish per person, or over one tonne per household every year.

Last year, Devon households threw out 378,227 tonnes of household waste (rubbish), of which we recycled and composted an incredible 207,170 tonnes through local authority recycling schemes such as household recycling boxes or Recycling Centres. This recycling success gave Devon residents a recycling rate of 54.8% for 2010/11.

England produces about 230 million tonnes of waste every year from our houses, shops, businesses, factories, mining, quarrying and construction. It is estimated that for every tonne of waste produced by households; commercial, industrial and construction businesses produce another six tonnes. Because we buy things from shops, businesses and factories, we are also contributing to the total amount of waste produced by these other categories.

Did you know?

It takes approximately 1,000 tonnes of raw materials to produce 100 tonnes of product and after six months only 10 tonnes is still in use!

England’s recycling rate is around 40% with the European Union average approximately 41%. Some European countries however recycle significantly more than this.

What is our plan to deal with rubbish?

In Europe, every EU member state must have a Waste Management Plan to deal with the 2 billion tonnes of rubbish produced every year. In this country, this plan is called the Waste Strategy for England 2007. This strategy is updated every few years because waste levels change. The most recent review was in 2011.

Local Councils also have a plan which is based on the proposals, direction and targets of EU and National plans. In Devon, this plan is known as the Municipal Waste Management Strategy for Devon (2005). This strategy is currently under review and will be updated in 2012.

If this all seems like a lot of planning, it is important to consider that dealing with waste is not cheap. Devon Authorities spent almost £50 million treating waste last year and because it is getting more expensive, it is estimated that it will cost £60 million by 2020. For this reason alone, there needs to be a good plan.

The plan for all areas (EU or Devon) is based on something called the Waste Hierarchy. The waste hierarchy is perhaps the most important thing to learn about the waste industry.

At the top of the hierarchy is waste prevention (the most important) and at the bottom, safe disposal (as the least preferred, but better than just leaving rubbish blowing around the countryside). The hierarchy is sometimes referred to as the 3Rs (reduce, reuse & recycle).

See Reduce, Reuse and Recycle pages to find out more about the 3Rs. After the 3Rs, the next option is;

Recovery

Recovery is more of a last resort. Some companies can deal with mixed rubbish but the quality of recycling is often poor because the waste has all been mixed up. Energy from waste is classed as a recovery technology and is intended to work alongside recycling schemes dealing with the non recyclable material which is burnt to produce energy.

Disposal

At the bottom of the waste hierarchy is safe disposal. Safe disposal is a minimum requirement but also very important. in 2010/11, English local authorities recorded an incredible 820,000 fly tipping cases which included large scale waste dumping, to black sacks dumped in lay bys or minor roads. Fortunately, because we are getting better at dealing with ‘waste crime’, the number of fly tipping cases is gradually reducing.

Safe disposal, which includes landfill, is still the most common means of dealing with the England's waste, despite being at the bottom of the hierarchy. Fortunately, as we reduce, reuse and recycle more, the amount we need to dispose of in this way reduces. This is better for our environment and budgets because the cost of landfill is increasing by at least £8 per tonne, every year.

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This website is intended to provide a broad introduction to waste management in Devon, if it doesn’t answer all your waste questions, please contact us via the ‘Ask a question’ page on this site and we will do our best to answer it.