Key Metrics
Key Metrics are used to give an indicator of how an authority is performing. The Metrics are broken down into 2 main groupings ranked and unranked. The ranked metrics are those which are commonly used in comparison tables between Authorities, these are consistent across the 3 governmental regions. The unranked metrics are the rest of the metrics that are reported by the relevant Governmental Authority, other than those featuring in the ranked table.
English Metrics
The table is based on data entered by Local Authorities onto WasteDataFlow for each quarterly return. WasteDataFlow is a web-based system for quarterly reporting on Local Authority Collected Waste data by Local Authorities to central government. It was also used by the Environment Agency for monitoring biodegradable waste sent to landfill under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme. The data has been pulled from the Governments own publication[1] regarding these statistics.
Local Authority Collected and Household Waste
Figures for Waste Disposal Authorities include all waste collected for Recycling or Disposal by the WDA and their constituent Waste Collection Authorities. The totals in this section are based on collected Local Authority Collected Waste.
- Regular household collection means wastes within Schedule 1 of the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992. Small amounts of commercial and industrial wastes may also be included in the case of collections that include mixed domestic and commercial hereditaments. Wherever possible, these wastes are included in Non-household sources. Regular household collection tonnages also include household material which was collected for recycling or composting but rejected as not suitable for recycling, either at collection, during sorting at a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) or at the gate of the reprocessor.
- Other household sources, refers to Schedule 2 wastes under the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992; those from household sources not collected as part of the ordinary waste collection round service.
- Civic Amenity Sites refers to household waste collected at sites provided by Local Authorities for the disposal of excess household and garden waste free of charge, as required by the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978.
- Household Recycling contains materials sent for Recycling, Composting or Reuse by Local Authorities as well as those collected from household sources by 'private-voluntary' organisations.
- Non-household sources (excl. Recycling) includes any wastes collected by a Local Authority from Non-household sources (i.e. not covered by 'Schedules 1 and 2 of the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992). It includes non-household material which was collected for Recycling but actually rejected at collection or at the gate of a Recycling Reprocessor.
- Non-household Recycling includes municipally collected materials for recycling from commercial sources. It excludes material which was collected for recycling from non-household sources but actually rejected at collection or at the gate of a recycling Reprocessor.
Management of Local Authority Collected Waste
The numbers in this section are based on Local Authority Collected Waste that is disposed or sent for Recycling or Composting.
- Landfill estimates include Recycling, Composting or Reuse Rejects.
- Incineration with Energy from Waste also included are amounts rejected for Recycling, Composting or Reuse where Incineration with Energy from Waste is reported as the final destination of these rejects.
- RDF is Refuse Derived Fuel.
- Recycled-composted includes Household and Non-household sources sent for Recycling or for centralized Composting; home composting estimates are not included in this total. It also includes small amounts of materials sent for Reuse. Material which was collected for Recycling but actually rejected at collection, by the MRF or at the gate of a Recycling Reprocessor is excluded.
- Other this includes waste treated-disposed through other unspecified treatment processes as well as process and moisture loss.
Selected Waste Indicators
- The National Indicator set for Local Authorities was discontinued in 2012, and the performance framework they were intended to monitor does not exist any more, they are included by the Government because of popular demand.
Scotland
Scottish data comes from Scotland's Environment Web [2].
Household Generated Waste
Household waste generated includes waste collected by local authorities at the door ("kerbside collection"), waste from sites such as recycling collection bins at supermarkets ("Bring" sites), and waste collected from households at local authority drop-off points ("Civic amenity sites"). The amount of waste generated in a local authority is strongly dependent on factors such as the population size, so values vary widely across Scotland. The data are thus presented as total household waste generated and waste generated per person.
The amount of waste generated in a local authority is strongly dependent on factors such as the population size, so values vary widely across Scotland. The data are thus presented as total household waste generated and waste generated per person.
Waste Recycled/Landfilled/Diverted from landfill
The above Waste Management methods have been grouped into the Recycled/Landfilled/Diverted from landfill scheme to provide a summary of the waste managed. This schema provides the following:
- Recycled: comprising waste prepared for reuse, recycled and organics recycled.
- Landfilled: comprising disposed to landfill sites.
- Other diversion from landfill ("Other diversion"): waste diverted from landfill, apart from waste recycled, comprising waste disposed by incineration, recovered by incineration, recovered by co-incineration and waste managed by other methods.
This schema is similar to that published by SEPA for Scotland's household waste official statistics.
Carbon Impact
This is a measure of the whole-life carbon impacts of waste, from resource extraction and manufacturing emissions, right through to waste management emissions, regardless of where in the world these impacts occur. The carbon impact of waste was developed by Zero Waste Scotland.
Wales
Welsh statistics come from StatsWales [3] Household waste includes regular household collections, civic amenity site waste, waste collected for recycling/composting and waste from special collections, such as collections of bulky household waste. Where local authorities collect non-household waste (i.e. from a business, school etc.) in the same collection round as household waste, it may not be possible for them to provide an accurate split between the household and non-household waste collected. Non-household waste prepared for reuse/recycled/composted includes local authority collected materials from commercial sources. This includes waste collected by private and voluntary organisations. Local authority municipal waste includes waste collected from household and non-household sources, but excludes abandoned vehicles.