Waste Facilities in UK
Overview
DEFRA publish an annual digest of waste statistics [1] and this page and the broader summary page on UK Waste Tonnage. The headline tonnages for 2016 for the UK (from a total of 221 million tonnes) were:
- Recycling and Recovery 104 million tonnes (48.5%)
- Landfill 52.3 million tonnes (24.4%)
- Energy Recovery Facility 7.3 million tonnes (3.4% but the fastest growing)
Split by Type of Treatment Method
The split by treatment method is heavily distorted by Soil and Mineral Waste contributing significantly to Backfilling and Landfill but also the Recycling and other Recovery (where some categories of application of this material to land are classified as Recovery). The majority of Household and similar wastes were treated at an Energy Recovery Facility.
| Waste Material | Energy Recovery | Incineration | Recycling and Other Recovery | Backfilling | Deposit onto/into Land (Landfill) | Land Treatment and Release into Water Bodies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metallic Waste | 0% | 0% | 14% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Glass Wastes | 0% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Paper & Cardboard Waste | 0% | 0% | 4% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Plastic Waste | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Wood Waste | 8% | 13% | 2% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
| Vegetable Waste | 0% | 1% | 4% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Household & Similar Waste | 76% | 38% | 1% | 0% | 11% | 0% |
| Mineral Waste | 0% | 0% | 55% | 5% | 6% | 60% |
| Soils | 0% | 0% | 12% | 89% | 55% | 0% |
| Dredging Spoils | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 40% |
| Other Waste | 16% | 48% | 6% | 4% | 27% | 0% |
| All Wastes | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Split by Number of Permitted Facility
DEFRA consolidate information from each of the four UK environment agencies authorized by an Environmental Permit or similar. The data with : in the table is not available, Energy Recovery has R1 status, and excludes sites exempt from requiring an Environmental Permit and intermediate treatment (which includes most Anaerobic Digestion).
| Facility Type | Measure | UK | England | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2016 | 2014 | 2016 | ||
| Energy Recovery | Number of Facilities | 29 | 37 | 13 | 23 |
| Capacity (kt/yr) | 4,862 | 9,808 | 2,803 | 7,202 | |
| Incineration | Number of Facilities | 83 | 78 | 60 | 57 |
| Capacity (kt/yr) | 9,859 | 8,474 | 9,040 | 8,193 | |
| Recovery other than Energy Recovery (includes Backfilling) | Number of Facilities | 2,660 | 3,506 | 1,669 | 1,944 |
| Capacity | : | : | : | : | |
| Deposit onto/into Land (Landfill) | Number of Facilities (including closed facilities) | 596 | 604 | 493 | 510 |
| Rest (remaining) Capacity (thousand m3) | 592,637 | 554,751 | 484,370 | 464,891 | |
Links to other Pages
WikiWaste has a number of pages dedicated to summarizing specific Treatment and Disposal facilities, grouped broadly at present into:
- Residual Waste EFW
- Biomass Waste EFW (including Waste Wood EFW, Sewage Sludge EFW and Agricultural Waste EFW)
- Anaerobic Digestion Sites
- Material Recovery Facility Sites (handling Dry Mixed Recyclables)
- Mechanical Biological Treatment Sites