The Climate Change Committee has recommended the UK Goverment implement policies to ensure the near elimination of all waste being sent to landfill by 2045.
By law the UK must reach net zero, which means the country is no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, by 2050.
The Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) seventh carbon budget sets out a limit on the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions over the five years between 2038 to 2042 to achieve this target.
To achieve this target, the CCC says there must be a near elimination of biodegradable waste sent to landfill from 2028 and all types of waste from 2045.
The CCC also recommends that carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies are installed at all Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plants by 2045, which it estimates will capture 90–95% of emissions produced through incineration.
What are carbon budgets?
The UK’s Climate Change Act (2008) requires the government to propose regular, legally-binding milestones on the pathway to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
These milestones are known as carbon budgets and set limits on the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions over five years. The CCC is required to advise the UK Government on the level of these budgets.
The CCC is an independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act. The Committee advises the UK and devolved governments on emissions targets and reports to Parliament what progress has been made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
What is the seventh carbon budget?
The CCC recommends the level for the seventh carbon budget, a limit on the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions over the five-year period 2038 to 2042, should be 535 MtCO2e.
Electrification and low-carbon electricity supply make up the largest share of emissions reductions in the CCC’s pathway to achieving the target, 60% by 2040.
The CCC estimate that the net costs of net zero will be around 0.2% of UK GDP per year on average if the government follows its pathway, with investment upfront leading to net savings during the five-year period.
What does the budget say about the resource & waste sector?
The largest share of emissions reduction in the CCC’s pathway for waste is achieved by reducing waste sent to landfill and EfW.
It says this can be accomplished by resource efficiency, increased recycling rates, and a reduction in food waste.
According to the pathway, resource efficiency improvements lead to a 5% decrease in total non-food related waste by 2040.
While improving resource efficiency in the construction, vehicles, and textile manufacturing sectors has largest impact on waste generation.
How can the sector contribute to net zero?
Stagnant recycling rates and an increase in emissions from waste incineration mean has stalled progress towards decarbonising the resource and waste sector, the CCC says.
The CCC says reducing emissions produced by waste will depend on a combination of government policy and action from households and businesses.
The key actions it recommendations include improving waste collections to ensure better consistency across the country.
Amongst the other recommendations are that the UK Government should prevent EfW capacity expansion unless a viable route to connecting CCS can be established.
The CCC has also called for funding and policy certainty for local authorities, saying it is key to decarbonising the waste sector.
Decarbonising waste an “uphill battle”: Industry reactions
Head of Climate and Energy Policy at the ESA, Charlotte Rule, said “without dramatic improvements to recycling performance and residual waste reduction, any other measures we take to reduce emissions associated with waste will be fighting an uphill battle”.
Rule continued that “the emerging policy landscape is some way off creating investable conditions in residual waste decarbonisation and government must ensure that the Emissions Trading Scheme drives the correct behaviour through pragmatic mechanisms that ensure the carbon content of waste is fairly allocated to producers to deliver a clear signal to decarbonise”.
Pre-loved or repaired goods represent two of the lowest carbon choices available to consumers…
Following the Budget’s publication, SUEZ CEO John Scanlon asked that more prominence be given to re-use and repair.
“Pre-loved or repaired goods represent two of the lowest carbon choices available to consumers and are growing in popularity,” Scanlon said.
“Embedding reuse and repair clearly into the budget’s framework, with real targets and incentives, will drive the circular economy necessary to reaching net zero goals.
“The UK has largely made the transition away from landfill and we will ensure that CCS reduces the impact of dealing with our customers’ residual waste. But we need to improve resource efficiency and that is not possible without a clear re-use and repair ethos.”
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