Waste Composition
During 2002/3 Surrey County Council and the Borough and District Councils commissioned an analysis of the household waste generated in Surrey using MEL Research. The project cost about £150,000, 90% of this being met by external funding.
About 580,000 tonnes of household waste was produced in Surrey in 2002/3.
- The analysis examined the materials present in the waste by hand sorting samples of waste from around the area.
- It also identified materials that could be readily recycled and the amounts of biodegradable waste that would be affected by the Landfill Directive diversion targets
To ensure a comprehensive analysis of the waste each method of collecting household waste was sampled. To achieve this the analysis was split into three parts.
- Firstly, residual household waste collected from the doorstep was analysed twice; once in early autumn and once in winter to take account of seasons. This part also took account of household type and bin system.
- Secondly, street sweepings were analysed once with samples taken from each local authority.
- Thirdly, samples were taken from people visiting community recycling centres as they entered at each site during October. Information on kerbside and bring site recycling was provided by all authorities for each material.
The concentrations of each material from each part of the analysis are presented in table 1 below. The annual tonnages have also been applied to each collection system to illustrate the quantities involved.
| Total waste | Collected waste | CA waste | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Tonnes | % | Total tonnes | Total % | Residual tonnes | Recycled tonnes | Sweepings tonnes | Tonnes | % |
| Paper/card | 127,102 | 22.0 | 118,023 | 27.8 | 71,848 | 41,081 | 5,095 | 9,079 | 5.9 |
| Plastic film | 16,344 | 2.8 | 15,973 | 3.8 | 14,967 | 0 | 1,006 | 371 | 0.2 |
| Dense Plastic | 27,408 | 4.7 | 25,107 | 5.9 | 22,786 | 302 | 2,019 | 2,301 | 1.5 |
| Textiles | 15,027 | 2.6 | 11,939 | 2.8 | 10,369 | 1,214 | 355 | 3,088 | 2.0 |
| Misc. combustibles | 43,571 | 7.5 | 21,259 | 5.0 | 20,403 | 63 | 793 | 22,312 | 14.5 |
| Misc. non-combustibles | 23,514 | 4.1 | 5,711 | 1.3 | 5,604 | 0 | 107 | 17,803 | 11.5 |
| Glass | 44,611 | 7.7 | 41,044 | 9.7 | 22,819 | 16,355 | 1,869 | 3,567 | 2.3 |
| Ferrous metal | 15,591 | 2.7 | 9,677 | 2.3 | 8,356 | 750 | 571 | 5,914 | 3.8 |
| Non-ferrous metal | 5,137 | 0.9 | 4,334 | 1.0 | 3,322 | 440 | 572 | 803 | 0.5 |
| Garden waste | 131,987 | 22.8 | 56,435 | 13.3 | 49,599 | 4,017 | 2,820 | 75,551 | 49.0 |
| Food waste | 93,653 | 16.2 | 91,616 | 21.6 | 88,391 | 0 | 3,223 | 2,039 | 1.4 |
| Other | 34,662 | 6.0 | 23,081 | 5.4 | 17,114 | 511 | 5,456 | 11,580 | 7.5 |
| Total | 578,606 | 100.0 | 424,199 | 100.0 | 335,580 | 64,733 | 23,886 | 154,407 | 100.0 |
Key findings of the analysis have been:
- Nearly 80% of the waste is potentially recyclable, reusable or compostable.
- 67% is biodegradable waste.
The most significant parts of the total waste stream are:
- Paper/card (22%)
- Garden waste (23%)
- Food waste (16%)
Waste collected by local authorities (district and borough councils)
This category contains residual waste collected from the kerbside, recyclables collected and waste from street sweepings activities, namely, the duties of Waste Collection Authorities (WCA's), your local district or borough council. With 424,199 tonnes of waste collected through these methods they account for about 3/4 of the total.
The major components of this waste stream are:
- Paper/card (28%)
- Green waste (13%)
- Food waste (22%)
For paper/card and food waste there increased importance is due to these collection systems being the major method of collection for them. In contrast garden waste has a reduced concentration as the community recycling centres also contain large quantities of it.
The waste collected by WCA's also contains large quantities of dense plastics (packaging) and glass packaging. The WCA's are the major collectors for both of these throughout Surrey.
Waste collected at community recycling centres (CRS's)
Community recycling centres accept 154,407 tonnes giving them a 1/4 share of Surrey's
household waste.
The major types of waste taken to CRC's are:
- Green waste (49%)
- Miscellaneous combustibles (15%)
- Miscellaneous non-combustibles (12%)
The miscellaneous categories feature a range of bulky items such as furniture, house improvement works and other bulky wastes that aren't collected from the kerbside. There are also significant quantities of paper/cardboard (mainly packaging, catalogues etc.) and electrical equipment such as fridges.
Conclusion
The analysis has shown that the majority but not all of Surrey's household waste can be recycled. The vast majority of biodegradable waste is contained in three categories; paper/card, green waste and food waste. Of this one part, food waste has the potential to be much reduced.
The analysis has provided a countywide average on waste composition; however, it also shows that composition varies dramatically between collection systems. This gives invaluable information on waste management and recycling systems. It helps the councils plan for the future in terms of waste management.
The waste composition analysis is currently being repeated and a report will be available in spring 2008.