CCC Mitigation Monitoring Framework

10. Waste

Key messages

• Ending the landfilling of biodegradable waste and minimising the role of incineration. Addressing emissions from solid waste treatment depends on continuing to drive down the use of landfill, whilst limiting the role of incineration by boosting waste prevention, resource efficiency and recycling.
• Improving wastewater treatment. Emissions from the treatment of wastewater are harder to abate and requires action to reduce operational emissions.
• Enablers. Changing behaviours to reduce waste and deploy innovative technologies depends on a key set of enabling actions, including providing appropriate services, infrastructure, incentives, and regulation.
• Further improvements in future years. In the future we’ll aim to report on some of the key enablers whilst integrating new or improved data in areas such as emissions capture rates.

How we monitor waste

Reducing emissions from waste requires action to prevent biodegradable waste from going to landfill, whilst limiting the role of incineration. This can be achieved by improving waste prevention, recycling, and resource efficiency, alongside deployment of technology to capture emissions. Addressing wastewater emissions is challenging and requires improved monitoring, operations, and technology.

The monitoring map for waste (Figure 10.1) sets out the key outcomes, enablers, and policies for reducing emissions, and represents our approach to tracking progress across these areas.

• Limiting emissions from landfill and Energy from Waste. Reducing waste arisings underpins key outcomes to reduce disposal emissions from landfill and incineration, in line with the established logic of the waste hierarchy. The biggest priority for reducing waste emissions is preventing biodegradable waste from going to landfill, followed by reducing emissions from incineration of residual waste. Progress in capturing emissions from landfill and incineration will be increasingly important, whilst phasing out waste exports will help avoid carbon leakage. We initially focus our indicators in these areas.
• Reducing emissions from wastewater relies on enhanced monitoring, operational improvements, and deployment of advanced technologies. Some residual emissions from wastewater are expected in 2050.
• Enablers. A range of enabling factors will underpin progress in the sector, including creating the right market conditions to incentivise waste prevention and carbon capture, and ensuring provision of adequate infrastructure and services to support recycling. In time we plan to track indicators against these.
• Policies. The final row in the monitoring map sets out, at a high level, the type of policies that are needed to support, facilitate and encourage action to reduce emissions in the waste sector. Some of these policies are in place or under development, but key gaps remain.

Where possible, we have sought to compare the indicators against a stated Government pathway or target and included indicators at a devolved administration (DA) level, given the devolved nature of waste policy. We will continue to review and update our monitoring framework each year to reflect the latest available data and emerging trends.

Indicators

This section sets out the indicators we will use in our progress monitoring for the sector. For each indicator we assign an ID number and identify a current data source. We explain why each indicator is important and what we are looking to see in our monitoring. The historical data and, where available and relevant, the benchmark trajectories against which we compare them are presented in the supporting data alongside our Progress Reports. We follow the order laid out in the Monitoring Map (Figure 10.1), taking each main branch in turn to lay out required outcomes and enablers. We discuss policy needs (flagged as ‘Policy’) alongside the most relevant outcomes and enablers. Specific recommendations are made in our annual Progress Reports to Parliament.

Required Outcome: Reduce waste arisings

Tracking waste arisings and indicators in recycling and waste reduction.

Indicators: Household and Commercial & Industrial Waste Arisings, UK

ID: WA1, WA2
Source: Defra, UK statistics on waste
Unit: Million tonnes of waste (Mt)

This set of indicators covers waste arisings at a UK level before recycling/
re-use/composting, across two key sources of Household waste and Commercial and Industrial waste.

• We include this indicator because, with improvements to waste prevention and resource efficiency, we would expect to see waste arisings reduce over time. This would then lead to reduced emissions from waste treatment and reduced embodied emissions.
• There is currently no Government target for reducing waste arisings before treatment, but Government is consulting on a target for reducing residual waste arisings (after recycling/re-use/composting). In the future we will adapt our indicator to track progress against this.
• Policy. Current policy is focused on encouraging greater recycling rather than preventing waste arising in the first place. Greater action is needed to drive behaviour change to reduce waste. This includes establishing robust standards to improve the resource efficiency of products or regulating to eliminate unnecessary waste (e.g. through mandatory food waste reporting for businesses) and equipping citizens with the right knowledge to improve their consumption behaviours.

Indicators: Waste from Households Recycling Rate, UK and DA level

ID: WA5, WA34, WA35, WA36, WA37
Source: Defra, UK statistics on waste
Unit: Recycling Rate (%)

This indicator allows us to track progress against a combined recycling rate for the whole of the UK and compare against each nation of the UK.

• We include this indicator because improving recycling rates is a key means to reduce residual waste arisings, which in turn will reduce emissions from landfill and incineration.
• There is no single recycling target for the whole of the UK. Devolved administration level targets are generally set on the basis of municipal, rather than household recycling rates. We therefore track progress against the Household recycling rate for the UK from the CCC’s Balanced Net Zero Pathway, which is more ambitious than current UK targets.
• Indicator WA5 provides a UK wide recycling rate while WA34 – WA37 allow for comparison across each nation of the UK.
• Policy. Planned reforms to waste management including Extended Producer Responsibility and consistent recycling collections will help to improve recycling rates by incentivising the use of more recyclable materials and improving the quality of recycling inputs. Further policy is needed to engage the public to improve recycling behaviours, and to regulate to remove barriers to recycling and re-use (such as right to repair).

Indicators: Statutory recycling rates for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

ID: WA6, WA7, WA8, WA9
Source: Defra Local Authority collected waste statistics; SEPA Household waste data; StatsWales Annual management of waste by management method; Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Northern Ireland local authority collected municipal waste management statistics annual report
Unit: Recycling rate (%)

These indicators allow us to track progress against committed recycling targets in each nation of the UK.

• We include these indicators because improving recycling rates is a key means to reduce residual waste arisings, which in turn will reduce emissions from landfill and incineration. Waste policy is highly devolved so it’s useful to track progress as at a DA level.
• Most nations use municipal waste as the basis of their recycling target, except for Scotland, which uses household waste to track against its “all waste” targets.
• Policy. As above.

Indicators: Construction and Total waste arisings, UK

ID: WA11, WA12
Source: Defra, UK statistics on waste
Unit: Million tonnes of waste (Mt)

These indicators are included to track progress in reducing all types of waste, including inert waste from construction activities.

• It is expected that overall waste arisings would fall (on a per-capita basis) as resource efficiency and recycling rates are improved.
• Policy. Policy is needed to improve the resource efficiency of the construction industry, including to encourage and enable more efficient use of materials.

Indicator: Municipal waste to landfill, UK

ID: WA38
Source: Defra, UK statistics on waste
Unit: Million tonnes of waste (Mt)

This indicator tracks progress in reducing all municipal waste to landfill at the UK level, covering both biodegradable and fossil waste. It is included in addition to indicators WA29 – WA32 because we want to see a reduction in all residual waste.

• Government is currently consulting on a target to reduce residual waste (i.e. that which is sent to landfill and incineration) by 50% by 2042 compared to 2019 levels, on a per-capita basis.
• Policy. The Landfill Tax has incentivised significant reductions in the landfilling of waste since the mid-1990s. This should continue, alongside policy to reduce waste arisings and improve recycling so that the level of residual waste falls.

Indicator: Plastic packaging waste arisings, UK

ID: WA45
Source: DEFRA UK Statistics on Waste Data Set
Unit: Million tonnes (Mt)

This indicator tracks progress in reducing plastic packaging waste at the UK level. It is included in addition to indicators WA29 – WA32 and WA38 as plastic packaging waste is commonly treated via incineration and therefore contributes to the emissions from Energy from Waste.

• There is currently no Government target for reducing plastic packaging waste. We would expect plastic packaging waste to reduce with the introduction of recycling and packaging reforms.

Indicator: Plastic packaging recycling rate, UK

ID: WA46
Source: DEFRA UK Statistics on Waste Data Set
Unit: %

This indicator tracks progress in improving the plastic packaging recycling rate at the UK level. It is included as plastic packaging waste is commonly treated via incineration and therefore improving the recycling rate is key to prevent emissions from Energy from Waste increasing.

• There is currently no UK target for the plastic packaging recycling rate, however England have a target to recycle 75% of packaging waste by 2030 (subject to consultation).
• We would expect plastic packaging recycling rates to improve with the introduction of recycling and packaging reforms.

Required outcome: Stop landfilling biodegradable waste

Indicators: Biodegradable Municipal Waste to Landfill, UK and DA level

ID: WA3, WA29, WA30, WA31, WA32
Source: Defra, UK statistics on waste
Unit: Million tonnes of waste (Mt)

These indicators track progress against a key outcome to reduce emissions from landfill, which is preventing biodegradable waste from being landfilled. This has now been committed to in some form by the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments.

• Each devolved administration has committed to different targets for reducing biodegradable waste and other waste to landfill. WA3 tracks progress at an aggregated UK level, whilst WA29 – WA32 track progress within each nation of the UK.
• We would like to be able to track progress in reducing biodegradable waste to landfill from all sources, not just municipal waste.
• Policy. The Landfill Tax has incentivised significant reductions in the landfilling of waste since the mid-1990s. This should continue, alongside policy to reduce waste arisings and improve recycling so that the level of residual waste falls. Policy focused on specific biodegradable waste streams, such as food waste, are needed, including the planned separate food waste collections and food waste reporting for businesses.

Required outcome: Reduce fossil waste to Energy from Waste

Indicator: Waste incinerated (including Energy from Waste), UK

ID: WA4
Source: Defra, UK statistics on waste
Unit: Million tonnes of waste (Mt)

This indicator tracks progress against a key outcome to reduce emissions from incineration, which is reducing the amount of waste being sent to incineration or Energy from Waste plants.

• We include this indicator because with improvements to waste prevention and recycling we would expect to see minimal growth in, or reductions in, the use of incineration.
• In particular, we would expect to see the amount of fossil-based waste being incinerated reduce as this is the main driver of CO₂ emissions from incineration and Energy from Waste plants. WRAP does occasionally undertake a survey of waste inputs to incinerators, but this is not available annually, so we don’t currently track the proportion of fossil inputs versus biogenic inputs.
• There is currently no target for the amount of waste being incinerated but this will be considered as part of the Government’s forthcoming target to reduce waste (alongside waste being landfilled).
• Policy. Policy is needed to guide the provision of incineration/ Energy from Waste capacity to avoid the risk of over-capacity and ensure plants are sited in the appropriate areas (including for CCS readiness). A more holistic approach to incentives across the waste hierarchy is also needed, given that Energy from Waste use/emissions are not subjected to a tax, unlike landfill. Support and/or incentives for installing CCS at Energy from Waste plants should be developed.

Indicator: Operational and planned energy from waste capacity, UK

ID: WA44
Source: Tolvik Consulting, UK Energy from Waste Statistics
Unit: Million tonnes (Mt)

This indicator tracks progress in reducing the capacity of energy from waste plants at the UK level, the indicator includes current operational capacity as well as capacity in construction and in late stage commissioning for each year.

• There is currently no Government target for reducing energy from waste capacity, but we would expect the need for energy from waste plants to reduce overtime with improvements to waste prevention, reuse, and recycling.

Required Outcome: Phase out exports

Indicator: Exports of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), England

ID: WA33
Source: Environment Agency International Waste Shipments exported from England
Unit: Million tonnes of waste (Mt)

This indicator is included because we have called for waste exports to be phased out by 2030, so that residual waste is processed in the UK rather than contributing to emissions overseas.

• The Environment Agency’s International Waste Shipments Exported from England dataset is published annually but is only available for England.
• Policy. An assessment of residual waste treatment capacity is required to determine the feasibility of phasing out waste exports.

Indicator: Proportion of plastic packaging exported, UK

ID: WA47
Source: Environment Agency National Packaging Database
Unit: %

This indicator tracks progress in reducing the proportion of plastic packaging exported. The UK exports plastic packaging to be recycled but once exported it is difficult to track how the packaging is processed. Reducing the amount of plastic packaging that is exported will lead to a more transparent picture of how UK plastic waste is processed and avoid carbon leakage.

Required Outcome: Wastewater Improvements

Indicator: Wastewater Handling Emissions

ID: WA10
Source: BEIS, UK greenhouse gas emissions statistics
Unit: Mt CO₂e

This indicator tracks progress against changes in emissions from wastewater treatment as we have yet to identify a suitable indicator of underlying progress in reducing wastewater emissions.

• In the future we may incorporate an indicator of underlying progress, such as the deployment of advanced anaerobic digestion technology, if suitable data should become available.
• Policy. Water companies should be encouraged and supported by Government to take action to reduce emissions, including through stronger monitoring and performance requirements, as well as support to reduce the costs of mitigation technologies.

Cross Cutting Indicators

Indicators: Waste treatment destinations, DA level

ID: WA13, WA14, WA15, WA16, WA17, WA18, WA19, WA20, WA21, WA22, WA23, WA24, WA25, WA26, WA27, WA28
Source: Defra Local Authority collected waste statistics; SEPA Household waste data; StatsWales Annual management of waste by management method; Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Northern Ireland local authority collected municipal waste management statistics annual report
Unit: Million tonnes (Mt)

This set of indicators track the tonnage of waste in each nation of the UK that is either sent to landfill, incinerated (including Energy from Waste) or recycled/ prepared for re-use/composted.

• These indicators are included because we would expect to see decreases in the amount of waste landfilled, alongside increased recycling and limited or reduced incineration, and because waste policy is largely devolved.
• Most nations use municipal waste as the basis of their waste statistics except for Scotland, which uses household waste to track against its “all waste” targets.

Future improvements

Planned updates to the indicator framework

Our approach for monitoring progress in waste is evolving. In the future we will consider tracking progress against the key enablers identified in the monitoring map:

• Provision of services and infrastructure: This might include service coverage, infrastructure capacity or investment figures, all of which we would expect to see improvements to enable delivery of key outcomes.
• Supportive market conditions: This might include tracking the market prices of recycled materials or goods, or the rates paid for captured emissions, which are important incentives for the transition.
• Behaviour to reduce waste: This might draw on existing studies, including by WRAP, which look at the public’s attitude to waste management changes.

In the future we will also track deployment of carbon capture and advanced treatment technologies, as suitable data or metrics become available.

Data gaps

There are several challenges around data consistency, accuracy, and availability in the waste sector.

• Most notable are challenges around the accuracy and reporting of commercial and industrial waste, for which recycling rates are not currently published. There are also different definitions for waste statistics that are collected across the UK.
• The Government and devolved administrations are currently in the process of establishing a Digital Waste Tracking system which should help improve the availability and accuracy of waste data.
• There is a general lack of understanding around the emissions embedded within waste, and increasingly we would like to see a move towards carbon-based metrics for reporting on waste management, as opposed to solely weight-based metrics.

There are also several key data gaps where we would like to track progress against key outcomes. In particular:

• There is inconsistency in the approach to estimating the amount/proportion of methane that is captured at landfill sites between the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory and the DUKES energy statistics. Ideally there would be a single reliable source which records the amount of methane which is captured at landfill for all energy uses.
• We would like to track, reliably and regularly, the proportion of fossil and biogenic waste inputs to incinerators and Energy from Waste plants, which is a key factor in emissions from incineration.