Dealing with the household rubbish produced in Wakefield is a Wakefield issue. Therefore a Wakefield solution must be sought and new facilities must be built in the District. Wakefield Metropolitan District Council produces approximately 200,000 tonnes of household rubbish a year, of which 24% is recycled, the rest is buried in landfill - a situation that is no longer environmentally or financially sustainable. Wakefield District Council is responsible for the collection and disposal of municipal waste. In 2004, the Council consulted on and adopted a Municipal Waste Management Strategy to ensure that it could achieve the targets set by the Government for reducing and recycling waste to avoid the risk of financial penalties.
The Council’s agreed Waste Strategy focussed on the following principles:
- Improved recycling
- Provide treatment facilities to reduce biodegradable content prior to landfill
- No incineration
We must act now to:
- Ensure the right mix of facilities are in place to meet these targets
- Avoid financial penalties from Central Government
- Reduce our reliance on sending rubbish to landfill
The Council has selected us to introduce new waste management facilities to Wakefield which will see recycling levels rise in line with Government targets of 52% by 2015.