Local Agenda 21 (LA21)

14. Waste Management

14.1 The management of Tameside's waste is an important element of the Borough's environmental performance. It is also one aspect of the Council's environmental impact that is effectively determined by every individual's lifestyle and actions, rather than by any direct Council impact.

Disposing of Waste

14.2 As a collection of individuals, Tameside's residents produce around 100,000 tonnes of household waste per annum. This equates to over 1 tonne of waste per household per annum. The contents of an average wheelie bin is paper and card (33%), glass (10%), cans (8%), plastics (7%), textiles (4%), kitchen waste (25%), and others (13%).

Over 70% of these materials can be recycled.

14.3 Whilst in 1996/97 the Council, through a variety of initiatives, increased the quantity of waste recycled by a healthy 7.8% (when compared with 1995/96), the Recycling Rate for the Borough for the corresponding period increased by only 1%. This was because the increases in recycling were offset by overall household waste production.

14.4 The Council subscribes to the universally accepted waste management strategy that puts waste minimisation at the top and the landfilling of waste at the bottom. The waste hierarchy is set out below :-

New Waste Strategies

14.5With the above in mind, the Council has introduced and promoted a number of initiatives aimed at encouraging waste reduction and re-use, together with the promotion of home composting and kerbside recycling schemes.

14.6 On the waste reduction front, the Council has helped to promote home composting with a subsidised sale of some two thousand home compostors. This event, held in October 1997, enabled two thousand households to obtain a home compostor at reduced cost.

14.7 The Council is in the process of introducing a kerbside waste paper recycling scheme which is expected to recycle between four thousand and five thousand tonnes of newspapers and magazines per annum once fully operational.

14.8 There have been marked improvements in the past two years in the number of 'bring' recycling sites, together with the range of commodities which residents can recycle. There remains, however, much to be done before we reach the recommended recycling site density of one site per one thousand households.

14.9 Education is seen as an integral element of improving the management of Tameside's waste and much effort is being put into environmental education in schools and the promotion of more sustainable waste management throughout Tameside.

14.10 As a Council, Tameside is working with other Greater Manchester Local Authorities on the development of an integrated waste management strategy to take effect when the existing disposal contracts expire. It is recognised that any new strategy finally adopted needs to move our waste management practice higher up the waste hierarchy than at present.

14.11 In terms of waste management, whilst much has been done, much more is in progress or remains to be done. The key factor that every citizen of Tameside must recognise is that if the problem of waste management is seen as the Council's, there is unlikely to be as much progress as we all would like. We are effectively all the cause of the problem and recognition of this, coupled with a willingness to change our ways and waste production, is the only long-term solution.