Waste Management
The waste management sector was responsible for around 4.5% of UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. The majority of this was methane emissions from landfill sites, although emissions of both methane and nitrous oxide from wastewater handling are also of note.
It is important to note that this sector does not include emissions from a range of activities which you might think fall under the definition of waste management – for example, waste collection vehicles, which are included in the transport sector, recycling facilities, which are included in the business sector, or energy from waste (EfW) plants, which are included in the energy supply sector.
Between 1990 and 2014, there was a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from waste management, with an overall decrease of around 69%. This was achieved by a combination of factors. There was a reduction in the amount of waste being sent to landfill, alongside improvements in the standards of landfilling. At the same time, there were changes in the types of waste going to landfill, such as a reduction in the amount of biodegradable waste. There was also an increase in the amount of landfill gas being captured and used for energy.
Since 2014 though, there has been only limited movement in emissions from this sector. Emissions from landfill remain pretty much unchanged since 2016, and emissions from wastewater handling have actually increased over the same period.
No additional end-user emissions are re-allocated from the energy supply sector to the waste management sector.
It is important to note that this sector does not include emissions from a range of activities which you might think fall under the definition of waste management – for example, waste collection vehicles, which are included in the transport sector, recycling facilities, which are included in the business sector, or energy from waste (EfW) plants, which are included in the energy supply sector.
Between 1990 and 2014, there was a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from waste management, with an overall decrease of around 69%. This was achieved by a combination of factors. There was a reduction in the amount of waste being sent to landfill, alongside improvements in the standards of landfilling. At the same time, there were changes in the types of waste going to landfill, such as a reduction in the amount of biodegradable waste. There was also an increase in the amount of landfill gas being captured and used for energy.
Since 2014 though, there has been only limited movement in emissions from this sector. Emissions from landfill remain pretty much unchanged since 2016, and emissions from wastewater handling have actually increased over the same period.
No additional end-user emissions are re-allocated from the energy supply sector to the waste management sector.
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What needs to be done to reach net-zero?
There are some fairly obvious actions which would clearly be beneficial. Reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill is the most obvious of these, particularly food waste, which is biodegradable. Reducing total waste and increasing recycling will, of course, help reduce the amount going to landfill. Many landfill sites use methane capture to reduce fugitive methane emissions and this technology will need to be introduced at more sites.
There are some fairly obvious actions which would clearly be beneficial. Reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill is the most obvious of these, particularly food waste, which is biodegradable. Reducing total waste and increasing recycling will, of course, help reduce the amount going to landfill. Many landfill sites use methane capture to reduce fugitive methane emissions and this technology will need to be introduced at more sites.
