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TOPIC PAPER 

WASTE  

AUGUST 2013 

About This Document This document is one of series of Topic Papers (www.swansea.gov.uk/ldpps) which provide the supporting evidence to underpin the preparation of the City and County of Swansea Council’s Local Development Plan (LDP). Each Topic Paper provides in-depth analysis of a particular issue that the LDP needs to respond to, including the national policy context, a review of local policy, current circumstances and trends, and also suggests appropriate polices for inclusion within the Plan. As further evidence and information becomes available each Paper will be revised and updated as appropriate. Who to Contact for Further Information? Further information on the LDP process is available to view on the Council’s website: http://www.swansea.gov.uk/ldp. The Council’s Planning Policy Team are available during normal office hours to discuss any aspect of the LDP. They can be contacted by letter/in person: Planning Policy Team, Room 2.6.2, City and County of Swansea Council, Civic Centre, Oystermouth Road, Swansea, SA1 3SN Or via: Tel: 01792 635744 Email: ldp@swansea.gov.uk If you require this document in a different format, e.g. large print, Braille, audio version, etc. please contact the Planning Policy on 01792 635744, email ldp@swansea.gov.uk or write to Room 2.6.2, Civic Centre, Oystermouth Road, Swansea, SA1 3SN.

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Contents Page No. About This Document 2Who to Contact for Further Information 2Contents 21.0 Background 42.0 The Current Legislative Context 53.0 Background Evidence 134.0 Swansea – Future Municipal Waste Management Solutions 245.0 Issues to be Addressed During Preparation of the LDP 266.0 Preferred Strategy 307.0 Next Steps 32 Appendices Appendix 1 EU Waste Legislation 33Appendix 2 Welsh Government Waste Sector Plans 35Appendix 3 City and County of Swansea UDP : Waste Policies 37

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1.0 Background 1.1 The purpose of this Topic Paper is to provide background information

and evidence for the City and County of Swansea Deposit Local Development Plan (LDP) in relation to waste issues, including national and regional waste planning policy, evidence regarding the amount of waste produced and disposed of within the County, whether there is a need for additional waste management facilities and the best location for those facilities. The need to produce a Topic Paper on waste is reflected by its importance at the European, national, regional and local levels.

1.2 The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Sustainability

Appraisal (SA) Scoping Report1 sought to present baseline information relating to social, economic and environmental factors in Swansea and highlight associated issues. The Scoping Report was published in May 2012 and the main issues identified in relation to waste were the need to increase municipal waste recycling/composting, the consideration of energy from waste opportunities, the accessibility of civic amenity sites and the identification of sites for the regional disposal of waste. There has been a shift in national policy since the Scoping Report was published and this Topic Paper will elaborate on the issues identified within the Scoping Report and update where relevant.

1.2 The Topic Paper will provide evidence for the Deposit LDP and will be

updated, if necessary, throughout the process of preparing the LDP if new data/information emerges. For example, if new legislation is produced, new guidance emerges from the Welsh Government or new planning permissions are granted. Any updates will take the form of supplementary papers.

1 http://www.swansea.gov.uk/media/pdf/e/0/LDP_Scoping_Report_-_track_changes_accepted.pdf

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2.0 The Current Legislative Context EUROPEAN CONTEXT 2.1 European legislation is the driver for waste management control across

the EU. The main piece of legislation is the revised European Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EU)2. The Directive lays down measures to protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the adverse impacts of the generation and management of waste, and by reducing the overall impacts of, and improving the efficiency of, resource use. It includes requirements for member states to: • Apply the waste hierarchy in waste management legislation and

policy. • Promote the high quality recycling of waste materials as part of

the overall aim to make the EU a ‘recycling society’. • Ensure that separate collection is set up for at least the following:

paper, metal, plastic and glass by 2015 (for all waste producing sectors).

• Ensure that the preparation for reuse and the recycling of waste materials such as at least paper, metal, plastic and glass from households is increased to a minimum of overall 50% by weight by 2020.

• Ensure that the preparation for reuse, recycling and other material recovery of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste is increased to a minimum of 70% by weight in 2020.

• Establish an integrated and adequate network of waste disposal installations and installations for the recovery of mixed household waste.

• Ensure that waste management is carried out without endangering human health and without harming the environment.

• Establish waste management plans. • Establish Waste Prevention Programmes describing existing

prevention measures, evaluating the usefulness of other measures and determine benchmarks for measurement of adopted prevention measures.

2.2 Local Planning Authorities (LPA’s) are obliged by the Waste

Framework Directive to make provision for establishing an integrated and adequate network of waste disposal installations.

2 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/legislation/a.htmhttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/WFD.pdf

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2.3 The Landfill Directive (1999)3 sets targets for the reduction of the

amount of biodegradable municipal waste that can be sent to landfill. The targets are:

- By 2010 to reduce Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW) landfill to 75% of that produced in 1995;

- By 2013 to reduce BMW landfill to 50% of that produced in 1995; and - By 2020 to reduce BMW landfill to 35% of that produced in 1995. 2.4 The following EU Directives relevant for waste management are

expanded upon in Appendix 1: • Waste Incineration Directive • Packaging and Packaging of Waste Directive • End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive • Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive • Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive • The European Direction (2006/21/EC) on the Management of

Waste from the Extractive Industries (Mining Waste Directive)

NATIONAL CONTEXT

Planning Policy Wales (PPW) 5th Edition (2012)4

2.5 PPW sets out land use planning policies in relation to waste. The Welsh Government’s (WG’s) general policy towards waste management is based on a hierarchy of reduction, re-use and material recovery (including recycling and composting), energy recovery with effective use of waste heat, and safe disposal. The Council should consider what facilities are required to manage all waste streams generated within its area, although it may be necessary for some facilities (such as facilities for managing special or clinical waste) to be shared.

2.6 LPA’s must have regard to the national waste strategy in formulating

their LDPs. They must ensure that LDP policies facilitate the delivery of the waste management objectives in the Waste Strategy for Wales and meet the obligations required by European legislation. LDPs should identify sites for waste facilities or areas where such facilities may be suitable. LDPs should also show the regard that the authority has had to any regional waste plan and any relevant waste management and recycling plans. Policies proposing any major new development should incorporate adequate and effective waste management facilities.

3 3 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/landfill_index.htmhttp://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31999L0031:EN:NOT 4 http://wales.gov.uk/docs/desh/publications/121107ppwedition5en.pdf

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Technical Advice Note (TAN) (Wales) 21 : Waste (2001)5

2.7 Facilitated the introduction of a comprehensive, integrated and

sustainable land use planning framework for waste management in Wales. Furthermore, it set out a remit for regional waste planning and Regional Waste Plans (RWP’s).

Revisions to PPW and TAN 21 : Waste (2013)6 2.8 The Welsh Government (WG) has recently finished consultation on

revisions to Chapter 12 of PPW and TAN 21 in order to reflect the revised Waste Framework Directive, the Waste Strategy for Wales and the Collections, Infrastructure and Markets Sector (CIMs) Plan. It covers the application of the waste hierarchy and proximity principles as well as the replacement of the technology approach contained in RWP’s with the assessments undertaken in the CIMs Plan.

Waste Hierarchies

2.9 Article 15 of the revised EU Waste Framework Directive requires that waste producers or other holders of waste ensure that the waste is treated in accordance with Article 4 (the waste hierarchy) and Article 13 (without harming human health or the environment).

2.10 The objective of the waste hierarchy (Figure 1) is to ensure that wastes

are managed in a way that delivers the best overall environmental outcome. The options for waste management appear in the waste hierarchy in general order of preference and sustainability, however it is not absolute and does not mean that all waste should be reduced or recycled where it is not practicable to do so and nor does it mean that there will be no further provision of landfill or energy from waste. Any justification from the waste hierarchy should be justified by life cycle thinking on the overall impacts of the generation and management of the specific waste:

a prevention b preparing for re-use c recycling d other recovery, e.g. energy recovery; and e disposal

5 http://wales.gov.uk/desh/publications/planning/technicaladvicenotes/tan21/tan21e.pdf?lang=en 6 http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/planning/planning-for-waste/?status=closed&lang=en

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Figure 1: The Waste Hierarchy

(Source: TAN 21: Waste, revised draft for public consultation, 2013) 2.11 ‘Towards Zero Waste’ One Wales: One Planet - The Overarching

Waste Strategy for Wales (2010)7 revises the first national waste strategy, Wise About Waste (2002). Towards Zero Waste (TZW) is a long term high level strategic framework which describeseconomic and environmental outcomes that resource efficiency and waste management wilachieve and how these contribute towards a sustainable future. It also details the WG’s level principles, policies and targets, sets out additional waste management and waste reduction targets beyond 2010. The objectivesto the period up

the social,

l

high

until 2025 are:

ncreasing

,

• To meet WG’s statutory targets for imunicipal waste that is recycled or composted from current levels of approximately 40% to 52% by 2012/13, 58% by 2015/1664% by 2019/20 and 70% by 2024/25

the amount of

• To meet EU and associated WG targets for reducing the amount of biodegradable waste that is sent to landfill, from its 2009/10 level of 523,035 tonnes to 470,000 tonnes by 2013 and 330,000 tonnes by 2020

7 http://wales.gov.uk/docs/desh/publications/100621wastetowardszeroen.pdf

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• To source (through procurement and/or use of merchant facilities)

sufficient food waste treatment in the period up to 2014/15 to help deliver the step change needed to hit 52% recycling/composting by 2012/13

• To source (through procurement and/or use of merchant facilities) sufficient residual waste treatment in the period up to 2019/20 to help deal with the 30% of waste that cannot be composted or recycled by 2024/25, thereby eliminating the need for landfill

• To introduce collection systems needed to gather materials from households and transport them to the appropriate treatment facility

2.12 Sector Plans are implementation plans that form part of the suite of

documents that comprise the overall waste management plan for Wales as required under EU, UK and Wales legislation. They will describe the role of the sector, the WG and others in delivering the outcomes, targets and policies in Towards Zero Waste (TZW). The most relevant to land use planning and waste is the CIMs Plan which, along with TZW sets out a long term framework for resource efficiency and waste management in Wales up to 2050, taking into account social, economic and environmental outcomes. The Municipal Sector Plan sets the agenda for the management of local authority collected municipal wastes. The two Sector Plans are outlined below and other relevant Sector Plans are presented in Appendix 2.

2.13 The Collections, Infrastructure and Markets Sector (CIMs) Plan,

July 20128 covers the collection and subsequent management of all wastes in Wales and focuses on the following priority materials that are iin Towards Zero Waste and also in the Waste Framework Directive (in respeccollection for recycling):

dentified

t of

• Food • Plastics • Metals • Glass • Paper • Card • Hazardous

2.14 It includes coverage of markets for recyclate, compost and anaerobic

digestion (AD) digestate. It also covers the collection and management of residual waste, that is, the waste that is left after recycling.

8 http://wales.gov.uk/topics/environmentcountryside/epq/waste_recycling/publication/cimsectorplan/?lang=en

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2.15 The Sector Plan acknowledges that the transition from current to future

arrangements will be difficult to achieve through the planning process. It states that further clarity on the implications of the transition and how it should be managed, in particular the relationships between the CIMS Plan, RWP’s and the LDP process, will be covered in a revised Technical Advice Note (TAN) 21 (2.8 refers).

2.16 The Municipal Sector Plan - Part 19 (MSP 1), 2011, sets the agenda

for the management of local authority collected municipal wastes for the next fifteen years and beyond. MSP 1 covers only the waste collected specifically by “municipalities” - that is all of the Welsh local authorities. The Plan focuses on actions for: • Waste prevention, including the role of local

authority service provision to influence householder behaviours

• Preparing for reuse, including opportunities to improve the reuse of bulky wastes

• Delivering a recyclate collection service focused on quality and not just quantity, with kerbside sort being the preferred best practice option identified

• Managing collected recyclate, food waste and residual waste in a sustainable way that maximises job creation in Wales and contributes to global and local environmental improvements

2.17 The Municipal Sector Plan – Part 2 (MSP 2) will focus specifically on

household hazardous waste. Waste (Wales) Measure 201010 2.18 The Measure introduces a carrier bag charge and requires monies

raised to be used for environmental purposes. It also sets targets and penalties for local authorities about the amounts of waste that is recycled, re-used or composted and restricts certain types of waste going to landfill. Finally, it enables Welsh Ministers to establish fees and charges schemes for Site Waste Management Plans for the construction and demolition sector.

Landfill Allowance Scheme (LAS)11 2.17 The Landfill Allowances Scheme (Wales) Regulations 2004 came into

force in Wales on 1 October 2004, in order to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill sites. The WG allocates allowances to each waste disposal authority based on the proportions of municipal waste arisings for each local authority in 2007/8.

9 http://wales.gov.uk/topics/environmentcountryside/epq/waste_recycling/publication/municipalsectorplan/?lang=en 10 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/mwa/2010/8/contents/enacted?view=plain 11 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/wales/wsi2004/20041490e.htm

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REGIONAL CONTEXT

The South West Wales Regional Waste Plan (RWP) 1st Review

(2008)12 2.18 The RWP was first adopted in 2004 and reviewed in 2008 in order to

provide strategic information on the types of locations likely to be acceptable for the location of waste facilities; to examine existing waste management/resource recovery infrastructure; and to calculate indicative new capacities and facilities that will be required by 2013. . The Plan relates to the following principal ‘controlled’ waste streams: • Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) • Industrial Waste • Commercial Waste • Construction and Demolition Waste (C&D) • Hazardous Waste; and • Agricultural Waste (the proportion requiring external management

only) 2.19 However the revision of the national waste strategy and the emergence

of the CIM Sector Plan have meant that the land-take based calculations of the RWP are considered outdated, and revisions to PPW and TAN21 propose to revoke them. However, it is proposed to retain the RWP ‘Areas of Search’ exercise as this remains valid.

Local Context 2.20 As Waste Planning Authority, the Council is responsible for land use

planning matters pertaining to the following types of controlled wastes: • Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) • Industrial & Commercial Waste (I&C) • Construction & Demolition Waste (C&D) • Agricultural Waste; and • Hazardous Waste

2.21 The management of waste is high on the Council’s agenda, with waste

issues recognised as a key priority within both the Community Strategy 2010–14 ‘Shared Ambition is Critical’; and the Swansea Environment Strategy; and as one of the priority objectives identified in the Council’s Corporate Improvement Plan for 2012/1313.

12 http://www.walesregionalwasteplans.gov.uk/ 13 http://www.swansea.gov.uk/media/pdfwithtranslation/e/e/Forward_Looking_Improvement_Plan_2012-13_final_version_(English).pdf

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City and County of Swansea Unitary Development Plan (UDP)14

2.22 The current development plan contains six local planning policies in

respect of waste management in the County. The policies reflect national waste planning policy and advice at the time the Plan was adopted in 2008. The policies are shown in full (excluding amplification) in Appendix 3 and provide a useful base from which to develop preparatory work for the Deposit LDP. The policies are: • Policy R12: Waste

Management • Policy R13: Landfill Sites • Policy R14: Special/Hazardous

Waste • Policy R15: Civic Amenity Sites

and Local Facilities • Policy R16: Major new

Development Waste Management Facilities

• Policy R17: Agricultural Land – Imported Waste

The City and County of Swansea Municipal Waste Management

.23 The Strategy sets out the need for a service development strategy that

Strategy (2011-2016)

2would span 15 years to meet the 70% recycling targets set for 2025 by the WG and outlines a 5 year Service Improvement Plan to achieve recycling targets up to the year 2016.

14 http://www.swansea.gov.uk/media/pdf/8/5/UDP_Written_Statement_Final_Version.pdf

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3.0 Background Evidence 3.1 The Scoping Report of the LDP outlines baseline information for

Swansea and highlights key issues of relevance. The Scoping Report can be viewed via: http://www.swansea.gov.uk/media/pdf/e/0/LDP_Scoping_Report_-_track_changes_accepted.pdf. This Topic Paper considers further the information contained in the Scoping Report and provides details of work that will be required in order to inform the evidence base and support the waste policies within the LDP. In order to set the context for the formulation of waste planning policies the Topic Paper sets out the waste management situation for all of Wales and then the situation within the County.

National Waste Figures

3.2 Approximately 17.4 million tonnes of waste from all sources is

produced in Wales each year. Some 70% (12.2 million tonnes) is from the construction and demolition sector whilst the remaining 30% is split fairly evenly between industry (1.9 million tonnes), commerce (1.7 million tonnes) and local authority collected municipal waste (1.6 million tonnes).

3.3 The quantity of local authority collected municipal waste produced in

Wales peaked in 2004-05 (at 1.9 million tonnes), since when it has decreased steadily to 1.6 million tonnes in 2011-2012 (StasWales)15.

3.4 A 2010 compositional study of local authority municipal waste in Wales

revealed that: • Around 61% is biodegradable waste, notably paper and card, food

and garden waste. • Hazardous household waste and Waste and Electrical and

Electronic Equipment (WEEE), some of which may be hazardous, account for 3% of the total arisings. Of these arisings 80% are WEEE, the remaining household hazardous waste consists mainly of paints and varnishes, clinical waste and batteries.

• 74% of local authority municipal waste is material that can be easily recycled or composted/digested.

3.5 The former Environment Agency last surveyed industry and commerce

in 2007. The results indicate that 3.6 million tonnes of waste was produced. Hazardous waste accounts for 7% of arisings, split between commerce (58%) and industry (42%). The sectors that produce the greatest quantities of waste are the food manufacturers (25%), metals industry (21%), and the supply of electricity and gas (21%).

15 https://statswales.wales.gov.uk/Catalogue/Environment-and-Countryside/Waste-Management/Local-Authority-Municipal-Waste

3.6 A study of the composition and management of construction and

demolition waste produced in Wales was undertaken in 2006, when a total of 12.2 million tonnes was produced. Construction and demolition waste is dominated by aggregates and soils, accounting for a combined total of 10.8 million tonnes of waste. Despite its significance in terms of tonnage, its management is generally sustainable and its ecological footprint is low.

3.7 The CIM Sector Plan (2012) states that there is a projected need to

develop between 296 – 390 thousand tonnes of further food waste treatment capacity by 2024-25. Planned new capacity (at the time of writing the CIM Plan) (with planning permission) was around 125 thousand tonnes (noting there is no certainty that the plants will be developed). The WG supported municipal food waste treatment procurement programme is aiming to procure around 140 thousand tonnes per annum capacity (some of which may be located outside of Wales). There is therefore a need for further food waste treatment infrastructure to be developed in Wales. It is also possible that existing in-vessel compost capacity may in time be replaced by new anaerobic digestion facilities, reflecting evolution and innovations in this food waste treatment sector.

Landfill 3.8 The implementation of the Landfill Directive introduced many new

requirements. Under the Directive, landfills were classified into three main types: Hazardous waste; Non-hazardous waste and Inert waste. Some non-hazardous landfills can also have a separate hazardous waste cell for Stable Non Reactive Hazardous Wastes (SNRHW), e.g. asbestos and gypsum. This cell is usually a very small part of the overall site. There is only one of these in Wales. There are also detailed restrictions on the waste (i.e. Waste Acceptance Criteria) that each class of landfill can take.

3.9 A total of 2.2 million tonnes of waste was landfilled in Wales in 2011.

This is a 4% reduction compared to the 2.3 million tonnes that was landfilled in 2010. The total tonnage of waste landfilled in Wales has fallen by 51% since 2001. In 2011, 65% of waste that was landfilled was HIC (Household, Industrial and Commercial) waste, 35% was inert/C&D (Construction and Demolition) waste and approximately 130 tonnes (<0.001%) was hazardous waste (consisting of mainly ashes and slags from metal manufacture and power stations).

3.10 There were 35.1 million cubic metres of remaining capacity at permitted

landfill sites in Wales at the end of 2011. This would provide 10 years of landfill life for non-hazardous waste at 2011 rates of disposal. Overall capacity decreased by 7% compared to 2010. No additional landfill capacity was created, and by the end of 2011: • 8% of capacity was at inert sites

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• 72% of capacity was at non-hazardous sites • 20% of capacity was at restricted user sites (non hazardous and

hazardous). (Source: Wales Waste Information, 2011)16.

3.11 On a regional basis, Figure 2 shows that within South West Wales

there is sufficient landfill capacity to last 11 years17 (2011 data). There was a total capacity of 10,592 cubic metres, a decrease from 12,085 cubic metres in 201018.

Figure 2: Landfill Capacity within Wales

(Source: Environment Agency Local Evidence Pack, 2013)

16 http://www.infobasecymru.net/IAS/resources/Swansea.pdf 16https://publications.environment-agency.gov.uk/ms/D9GNXn 17 http://www.infobasecymru.net/IAS/resources/Swansea.pdf 18 http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Research/Wales_Capacity_Trends_2011_Final.xls

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Hazardous Waste Deposited in Wales 3.12 Environment Agency permitted site return data19 shows that 291,625

tonnes of hazardous waste was managed20 in Wales in 2011, a 14% increase since 2010. This includes hazardous waste imported from other parts of the UK, and excludes hazardous wastes produced in Wales that were exported to other parts of the UK. A total of 324,554 tonnes of hazardous waste was deposited (i.e. treated) in Wales in 2011, meaning that 32,578 tonnes was imported to the Country. There were no hazardous waste landfills in Wales in 2011. The CIM Sector Plan recognises that there is no need to identify hazardous waste sites within LDPs, as the issue can only be addressed at the England and Wales level.

THE SITUATION IN SWANSEA

Municipal Recycling/Reuse

3.13 There has been a steady increase in the percentage of total municipal waste being reused/recycled or composted in the County, from 12.7% in 2001-2002 to 45.2% in 2011-2012 (Table 1). However, this is below the Welsh rate of 48.5% in 2011-12 and even assuming reasonable progress/participation in existing municipal waste collection initiatives, it is projected that the WG targets set for 2012/13 and 2015/16 may be missed by 5% and 9% respectively (Figure 3). The Council faces potential fines of £250k for every 1% that the statutory recycling targets are missed by, year on year.

Table 1: Swansea Municipal Reused/Recycling/Composting

Rate (%) 1998/ 1999

1999/ 2000

2000/ 2001

2001/ 2002

2002/ 2003

2003/ 2004

2004/ 2005

2.1 10.4 11.5 12.7 14.7 19.7 25.3

2005/ 2006

2006/ 2007

2007/ 2008

2008/ 2009

2009/ 2010

2010/ 2011

2011/ 2012

32.2 29.7 30.9 32.1 34.9 40.5 45.2

Source: Statswales 20 The Environment Agency is required to monitor registered hazardous waste movements. The figure is a summary of movements. The same waste may be moved between multiple facilities and each separate movement is recorded. This double counting should be taken into account when using this data.

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Figure 3: Swansea Municipal Waste Recycling Performance

(Source: Municipal Waste Strategy, City & County of Swansea) 3.14 At the same time there has been a steady decline in the amount of

household waste collected by municipal waste refuse collection, which has almost halved over the last 8 years, from 63,424 tonnes in 2003-04 to 31,782 tonnes in 2011-2012 (statswales website). This is however, slightly below the Welsh rate of 48.5% during the same period.

3.15 The amount of residual household waste (i.e. the amount of waste that

is not sent for reuse or recycling or composting) produced per household has steadily decreased from 194kgs per dwelling in January-March 2007 to 166kgs in January-March 2010. This decrease reflects that experienced by other local authorities within Wales, though the residual waste produced per household exceeded the Welsh average of 160 kilograms per dwelling in 2010.

3.16 There is a network of 19 community based recycling centres (bring

sites) throughout the County which offer a range of facilities for recycling including paper, glass, cans, textiles shoes and books. There are also five Civic Amenity sites operated under contract by City Waste Disposal Company Limited which offer a much greater range of recycling facilities than the bring sites. The Civic Amenity sites achieved an overall recycling rate of 53.6% in 2011/12, which contributed nearly 14% of the total amount of municipal waste recycled. The facilities will however have to be significantly improved to achieve the rate of 80% required to achieve the targets for 2015/16 (Municipal Waste Management Strategy).

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/2014 2014/15 2015/16Statutory target 58%

Rec

yclin

g R

ate

(%)

Statutory TargetExisting Arrangements

Statutory target 52%

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3.17 Table 2 illustrates each of the recycling areas and their contribution to the overall recycling figures. The figures are based on best practice, available evidence and current trends in the County. Utilising this as a model, Column One illustrates that 59% recycling could be generated from the planned Service Improvement Plan, exceeding the statutory targets set for 2015/16 by 1%.

3.18 However Columns Two, Three, Four and Five show what the Council’s

likely performance would be if no further additional work and initiatives were developed to improve each of the recycling areas significantly in future years based on current trends in Swansea.

Table 2: Recycling Service and Performance

Column

One Column Two

Column Three

Column Four

Column Five

Recycling Service

*Best Practice

2010/11 April – December %

2011/12 2012/13 Statutory Target 52%

2015 /16 Statutory Target 58%

Kerbside 32.0 20.4 25.0 26.8 28.0 Civic Amenity Sites

18.5 13.7 14.0 14.0 14.2

Commercial Waste

6.5

5.3 5.4 5.5 6.0

Bring Sites 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

Voluntary Sector

0.5 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3

Sweeping 0.5 0 0 0 0 Total

59%

40%

45%

47%

49%

*The best practice achievable %age is that which could be recycled if improvements are made to each of the existing recycling services based on best practice available evidence. (Source: Municipal Waste Management Strategy, CCS)

Municipal Waste Sent to Landfill 3.19 The amount of waste sent to landfill will need to decrease in line with

statutory targets. At the same time fiscal measures, i.e. the UK landfill tax which is set to increase by £8 per tonne until April 2014, are equalising the cost of landfill and alternatives. Eventually, this will make landfill more expensive than alternative disposal methods. However, there remains a need to retain landfill capacity for the disposal of residual waste which cannot be disposed of in any other manner. Table 3 illustrates how the amount of municipal waste sent to landfill or incinerated in Swansea has decreased since 2003/2004.

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Table 3: Swansea Municipal Waste Disposal by Landfill or Incinerated (tonnes by source).

Refuse collection

Bulky collections

Other household

Civic amenity & bring

sites

Other and non

household

Rejected a*

Rejected b*

Rejected c*

Total

2003/04 63,424 - 8,774 23,876 34,957 131,031 2004/05 62,298 31 10,133 24,115 31,075 127,653 2005/06 60,931 754 4,937 19,912 26,543 113,068 2006/07 60,229 712 4,894 18,771 15,535 15 116 100,271 2007/08 57,322 727 5,437 18,153 14,623 96,263 2008/09 53,736 585 5,336 15,859 12,974 6 88,496 2009/10 50,973 554 6,451 13,492 11,512 82,982 2010/11 42,379 572 6,328 10,401 11,736 71,416 2011/12 31,782 457 5,912 11,955 10,325 60,431 *Rejected a: Rejected material from household kerbside, voluntary household kerbside, civic amenity site, bring site, voluntary sector bring site and street recycling bins. Rejected b: Rejected material from non-household. Rejected c: Rejected material from gate of reprocessor. (Source: Municipal Waste Management Strategy, CCS)

Landfill Allowance Scheme (LAS)

3.20 The European Landfill Directive requires the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) going to landfill to be significantly reduced. The Landfill Allowances Scheme (Wales) Regulations 2004 (The LAS Regulations) came into force in Wales on 1st October 2004 in order to reduce the amount of BMW going to landfill sites. The law requires the WG to allocate allowances to waste disposal authorities. The landfill allowance for each waste disposal authority is based on the proportions of municipal waste arisings for each local authority in 2007/8.

3.21 The LAS Regulations reduce the amount of BMW that can be sent to

landfill sites each year, in turn encouraging re-using, recycling, composting and recovering energy from waste. Each waste disposal authority must meet their individual allowances to assist the UK in meeting its targets under the Landfill Directive. Figures 4 and 5 below are taken from the Environment Agency’s website21 and illustrate that the County used just 72.8% of its allowance in 2011/2012.

Figure 4: City and County of Swansea Performance against

LAS Regulations Allowances (2004/05 to 2011/12)

Landfills Used 2011/2012 Parkgate Farms Pwllfawatkin Tir John Trecatti

21 http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/WDF_11-12_LAS_Quarterly_Online_Data_Summary_e.pdf

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3.22 Figure 5 shows that if recycling rates are increased to achieve the

targets set for 2012/13 and 2015/16 then this will ensure that the County’s LAS targets are also met, with the assumptions that:- • total Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) will remain relatively constant

at 118,216 tonnes • biodegradability of residual waste will be relatively constant at

56%

Figure 5: Landfill (LAS) Allowances

Source: Municipal Waste Management Plan, 2011-16

Historic and Permitted Landfill Sites 3.24 Figure 6 shows the location of all operational (permitted) landfills within

the County. Operational landfills are sites with a current permit that are still accepting waste, or are no longer accepting waste but still being actively managed. The figure also shows the location of historic landfills known to the Environment Agency Wales. Historic landfill sites are locations where there are records of waste being received to be buried but the site is now closed or covered. These landfills do not have a current permit. The information has been collated from data held by local authorities, the former Department of the Environment, and British Geological Society, as well as Environment Agency suspended authorised landfill licences.

24000

26000

28000

30000

32000

34000

36000

38000

2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Year

BM

W (t

onne

s)

LAS Allowances47%49%59%

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Figure 6: Location of Historic and Permitted Landfills in Swansea Tir John 3.25 The Authority has one active landfill site for the disposal of municipal

and commercial waste, Tir John, which has historically been run by the Authorities arms length ‘LAWDC’ Swansea City Waste Disposal Company, though is currently in the process of being transferred back to the Authority. A permit application is being pursued with the Regulators, National Resources Wales. This variation will modify the method of future development of the site. There remains adequate existing landfill capacity at Tir John which may be utilised until alternative treatment solutions have been developed and procured.

Permitted Waste Management Sites 3.26 Figure 7 shows and lists the locations of permitted waste management

sites within the County as at September 2011. These sites have a current permit for waste management activities, but may not be currently accepting waste. Those waste management sites that received waste during 2011 have been shown as active.

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Figure 7: Permitted Waste Management Sites in Swansea

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Infraction Fines Infraction Fines 3.27 The price of failure to meet identified targets would be substantial with

infraction fines from Brussels and/or fines from the WG. Both the recycling and the LAS targets carry substantial financial penalties for non-compliance (WG fines are £200 for every tonne of material outside targets; infraction fines from Europe associated with LAS can amount to £500,000 per day at Member State level.

3.27 The price of failure to meet identified targets would be substantial with infraction fines from Brussels and/or fines from the WG. Both the recycling and the LAS targets carry substantial financial penalties for non-compliance (WG fines are £200 for every tonne of material outside targets; infraction fines from Europe associated with LAS can amount to £500,000 per day at Member State level.

Material Recycling Facility (MRF) Material Recycling Facility (MRF) 3.28 The Council operates a MRF situated at Ferryboat Close in Llansamlet

which is run by the LAWDC. This facility has the capacity to continue to function and process all recyclables generated in Swansea within the period of the LDP.

3.28 The Council operates a MRF situated at Ferryboat Close in Llansamlet which is run by the LAWDC. This facility has the capacity to continue to function and process all recyclables generated in Swansea within the period of the LDP.

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4.0 Swansea – Future Municipal Waste Management Solutions 4.1 There are currently a number of procurements underway or being

contemplated that are an integral part of the County’s Waste Management Strategy. These are very important in enabling the Council to meet its landfill targets. The procurements are as follows: • Green Waste Composting (Open Windrow) facilities - ongoing • Interim Food Waste Treatment Service – ongoing • Interim Residual Waste Treatment Service – commenced • Tir John Landfill Extension – under consideration • Long Term Regional Food Waste Treatment Service - advanced

stages with initial service commencement planned for 2014 and full operations in 2015/16

• Long Term Regional Residual Waste Treatment Service - outline Business Case Stage with service commencement anticipated in 2019

Regional Procurement

4.2 The revised Waste Framework Directive (rWFD) requires that waste

disposal and recovery of mixed municipal waste should be undertaken at one of the nearest appropriate installations to the source of the waste arising. The implementation of the proximity principle at the strategic level may mean that waste from one local authority or region is treated or disposed of in a neighbouring local authority or region. The CIM Sector Plan recognises that municipal waste arising in one area is best treated in a neighbouring authority, if that is the nearest appropriate installation to the source of the waste. Collaboration between local authorities is therefore necessary to monitor progress towards establishing an integrated and adequate network for the disposal of waste and recovery of mixed municipal waste. A consortium of local authorities in South West Wales has been established to further WG’s aims of securing partnership working, collaboration and efficiencies across the public sector in Wales. A regional Joint Waste Committee oversees and provides the necessary governance for direction of the consortium.

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Food Waste Treatment 4.3 Under the umbrella of the consortium, a procurement Hub for food

waste treatment has been formed comprising of all five local authorities from the consortium (City and County of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Bridgend Councils). Swansea is the lead authority for the project. The Hub received approval from WG to progress food waste treatment by Anaerobic Digestion (AD). The competitive dialogue process commenced in Sept 2010 and the preferred bidder was confirmed in November 2012 following a rigorous evaluation process. There have since been a number of delays primarily due to planning refusal at the proposed site in Pontypool which is being appealed in conjunction with an assessment of alternatives. Financial close and award of a contract for 20- 25 years is planned for October 2013. Service commencement at the new plant is estimated to be in 2015/16 although the Hub is seeking an initial service at the contractor’s existing plant in Oxfordshire from April 2014.

Regional Residual Waste Treatment 4.4 In order to maximise economies of scale and the sharing of costs, the

South West Wales Waste Consortium is considering the inclusion of the Central Wales Partnership of Ceredigion and Powys in the procurement for residual waste treatment. Once the procuring parties have been finalised an outline business case will be developed for approval by WG. In line with the WG experience the 25 year contract will involve a thermal process with energy production and is planned to be operational by 2019.

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5.0 Issues to be Addressed During Preparation of the LDP 5.1 The LDP must accord with national planning policy and the final

amendments to chapter 12 of PPW and TAN21 will be reviewed to ensure that they are taken into account during the preparation of the Deposit Plan. The CIM Sector Plan moves away from the land take based calculations of the RWP’s and expresses the need for waste management facilities based on future capacity in tonnes per region, rather than by LPA. However, the land take ranges are considered to provide a valuable spatial basis for implementing the broad principles of the CIM Sector Plan and advice from the WG is that they should continue to be used by LPAs in the preparation of LDPs until revisions to TAN21 are finalised. Similarly, the locational criteria and areas of search information continue to be relevant in the preparation of LDPs.

5.2 Advances in technology mean that many modern waste

management/resource recovery facilities externally appear the same as any other industrial building, and on the inside contain industrial processes or energy generation activities that are no different to many other modern industrial processes in terms of their operation or impact. Therefore, many existing land use class B2 ‘general industrial’ employment sites, existing major industrial areas, and new B2 sites allocated in development plans will be suitable locations for the new generation of in-building waste management facilities. The take up of sites by waste management users will be monitored as part of annual monitoring of LDP’s.

5.3 The Deposit LDP must also ensure that adequate facilities and space is

incorporated into the design of new development to enable the collection, composting and recycling of waste materials. Further, that waste should be reduced at the design, construction and demolition stages of development. This is considered in more detail within the Design Topic Paper.

5.4 LDP policies must ensure that the management of waste is pushed up

the waste hierarchy and also consider whether any opportunities exist for co-location and the development of heat networks. If no opportunities exist in the County then the amount of land required to provide for recovery and intermediate treatment facilities or food waste treatment, along with a range of other recycling, reprocessing/remanufacturing and waste collection/transfer facilities will not be identified separately, but instead be part of the consideration of employment land allocations within LDPs.

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Areas of Search 5.5 The ‘Areas of Search’ exercise contained within the Regional Waste

Plan 1st Review22 needs to be considered in conjunction with the regional-level data for predicted residual waste requirements outlined in the CIM Sector Plan. It must be noted however, that whilst the LDP can identify, through the land use planning system, the locations that it considers would be appropriate for waste facilities, it would be the municipal waste authority or the waste management industry that would ultimately come forward with proposals on these sites. The process is therefore largely market led. In addition to the sites that will be allocated in the Deposit LDP, the waste industry might in the future come forward with alternative suggestions on sites that have not been allocated, or sites that might not fall within an area of search. In these instances, the appropriateness of such sites will be assessed on their individual merits and in relation to all relevant policies contained within the LDP.

Swansea’s Employment Landbank 5.6 There must be sufficient vacant employment land (including vacant

buildings) within the County to ensure that the needs of waste management infrastructure can be met, together with the needs of all other forms of anticipated employment growth over the lifetime of the LDP. Recent proposed changes to PPW and TAN 21 suggest that Employment Land Surveys are not expected to specifically take into account separate provision for waste facilities, but LDP’s should indicate where suitable and appropriate sites exist for the provision of all types of waste management facilities in order to provide some certainty for waste operators.

The areas listed in the RWP 1st Review were allocated employment

sites within the UDP. The total land area of these sites was almost 380ha, but no figures were provided for the available landbank within those sites, details of which are listed in Table 4.

22 http://www.walesregionalwasteplans.gov.uk/

Table 4: Employment Sites Listed within the RWP 1st Review

Employment Sites Total Land Area (Ha) Felindre 190 SA1 18 Swansea Vale 25 Swansea West Industrial Park 60 Docks 34 Swansea Enterprise Park 14.2 Bryngwyn Works, Gorseinon 3 Players Industrial Estate, Clydach 2.5 Garngoch Industrial Estate 5 Land at Bryntywod, Felindre 15.8 Crofty Industrial Estate 4 Penllergaer Business Park 8.2 Total 379.7

5.7 Prior to the publication of the proposed changes to PPW and TAN21,

the Council, jointly with Neath Port Talbot Council, commissioned Peter Brett Associates to undertake an ‘Economic Assessment & Employment Land Provision for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot’, which was published in 2012 (The Employment Land Study). This Study used the land take based calculations of the RWP 1st Review to estimate the demand/availability of land for waste management facilities. It identified that in the County up to 16ha of employment land might need to be identified and set aside specifically for B-space uses, which includes 84,000 sqm (21ha) for offices coupled with a 5.1 ha loss in industrial/warehousing uses. The space available within existing employment sites that is either currently available or will become available, is expected to provide enough suitable land for viable redevelopment options.

5.8 A further allocation of 35.5ha is also required for waste requirements,

which would normally take B2 industrial land. Therefore the additional requirement for future waste facilities would result in a positive requirement for industrial/warehousing land over the life of the LDP equivalent to 30.4ha. The sites specifically for meeting recyclable and reusable waste should have good strategic and local access, but given the nature of these forms of developments, they should be accommodated some distance from neighbouring residential and high quality employment uses.

5.9 In total, Swansea is likely to have a B-space land requirement for

around 50ha over the life of the LDP. The Employment Land Study identifies that there is already over 58ha of allocated employment land within and adjacent to existing employment sites that is considered suitable and deliverable for future employment use.

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Regional Collaboration 5.10 Further waste assessments at the regional or LDP level are not

required, but the WG considers that collaboration between LPA’s is necessary to monitor progress towards establishing an integrated and adequate network for the disposal of waste and recovery of mixed municipal waste. The information will be presented in an annual monitoring report. Monitoring will ensure: • There is sufficient landfill capacity across the 3 Welsh regions to

treat waste which cannot be moved up the waste hierarchy • Sufficient treatment capacity for the recovery of mixed municipal

waste comes forward across the 3 regions, and • There is no overprovision of disposal and treatment capacity for

the recovery of mixed municipal waste. 5.11 Draft TAN 21 suggests that LPA’s will be expected to establish

voluntary joint arrangements to undertake annual monitoring of: • Existing operational, permitted and closed residual mixed

municipal waste facilities to ascertain approximate operational capacity to inform planning decisions

• Existing operational and permitted landfill capacity to ascertain the existing void relative to the trigger point identified in the TAN

• Permissions (planning consent and/or environmental permit) applied for and granted for new or extended facilities and the capacity of those additional or extended facilities, including where permission has been granted, whether they are operational or are under construction, and the main types of waste they will manage

• Sites where operation is suspended for any reason • Sites that have been closed or have reached the end of their

lifetime, and • Progress on the different procurement programmes

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6.0 Preferred Strategy 6.1 The Preferred Strategy will ensure that the LPA has sufficient provision

for facilities to ensure that future waste management facilities can be accommodated within the County. The Employment Land Study has clearly shown that there is sufficient capacity on sites with extant B2 permissions to adequately accommodate both strategic and local waste management/recovery facilities. This could be met wholly within existing sites with extant B2 permissions. In fact, over-provision is necessary in order to provide flexibility to the waste industry. The Deposit Plan will therefore identify a sufficient range of B2 sites which can accommodate a range of in-building facilities and provide flexibility and choice for the industry.

6.2 However, when the Hub facilities come on line this is likely to reduce

the amount of capacity needed for new waste facilities in the County, as are new and changing technologies requiring smaller dispersed facilities or larger facilities to take advantage of economies of scale thereby it is more difficult to ascribe ‘an average facility’ value than when the RWP was written. Increased re-use and recycling is also reducing the amount of non-hazardous residual waste going to landfilled, lengthening the lifespan of Tir John and providing sufficient landfill capacity until the regional hub facilities are operational. Tir John will therefore continue to be identified as the County’s landfill site for the disposal of non-hazardous residual waste.

6.3 The Preferred Strategy sets out one strategic policy in respect of

waste; this will be supplemented by the detailed criteria based policies and proposals to be formulated as part of the Deposit LDP. This will allow for the further assimilation of up-to-date information and ensure the LDP accords with revised national planning guidance and TAN12 (once adopted by the WG) as the plan making process progresses.

Strategic Policy 6.4 The existing Swansea UDP detailed Waste Policies will be reviewed as

part of the preparatory work for the Deposit LDP and regard will be made to the proposed changes to PPW Chapter 12, draft TAN 21 and the CIM Sector Plan.

6.5 Through its role in providing land for waste management facilities the

LDP will contain policies addressing the management of waste which reflect European, national and local level strategies. These have changed significantly since the publication of the UDP. The LDP waste planning framework will protect land currently used for waste management purposes and seek to encourage suitable and sustainable waste management facilities that will re-use, recycle and recover waste materials and ensure the proper the disposal of any residual waste element. The County’s residual municipal waste will

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continue to be landfilled at Tir John, until a hub (or alternative facility) is brought online. Sufficient vacant employment land exists to accommodate future waste management facilities that are appropriate to such locations. The proposed policy and supporting text for the Preferred Strategy is set out below.

Waste

7.77 The planning system needs to facilitate the development of wide ranging and diverse waste infrastructure. Draft revised TAN21: Waste (2013), states how new technologies have led to the move away from local planning authority area-based land-take calculations as prescribed within the Regional Waste Plan (RWP) 1st Review and instead express future regional capacity needs in tonnes. The policies will be kept under review to ensure they reflect the most up to date national guidance.

7.78 The waste hierarchy is a central pillar to inform decisions on

waste management options and ensures that wastes are managed in a way that delivers the best overall environmental outcome. The options for waste management appear in the waste hierarchy in general order of preference and sustainability and, when taking planning decisions, it is expected that it will be applied as a priority order. Waste prevention and re-use is at the top of the hierarchy, followed by preparation for re-use, recycling, recovery and finally disposal.

7.79 The Deposit LDP will contain criteria-based waste policies

which proposals must accord to and the RWP’s Area of Search maps will be used to indicate areas within the County where ‘in-building’ facilities and ‘out-building’ facilities may be appropriate. B2 employment sites are those classed as B2 General Industrial under the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order. Facilities should not be located in, or near, where they would have an adverse impact on areas or sites designated for local, national or international protection.

7.80 Developments should be designed to have adequate facilities and space for the collection, composting and recycling of waste materials.

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Policy 16: Waste Waste will be managed sustainably within the County by ensuring that all proposals for waste facilities demonstrate how the management of waste is being driven up the waste hierarchy and accords with the proximity principle.

B2 employment sites will be considered for ‘in-building’ waste management facilities subject to there being no significant adverse effect on the environment or the amenity of adjacent users and communities. The opportunity for co-locating facilities to enable heat networks will be considered.

Tir John will continue to operate as a municipal waste landfill site, until alternative facilities are available. Key Objectives: • Facilitate the sustainable management of waste • Ensure communities have a mix of uses and facilities to create

sustainable, inclusive neighbourhoods that allow community life to flourish

• Improve access to healthcare, lifelong learning, leisure, recreation, and other community facilities

• Encourage appropriate development of low carbon and renewable energy resources and energy infrastructure

• Support the safeguarding and sustainable use of natural resources where appropriate

7.0 Next Steps 7.1 The Topic Paper will be revised if necessary whilst the LDP is being

prepared, to take into account any further revision to national policy and guidance when the revised TAN is adopted and subsequent amendments to PPW.

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APPENDIX 1

EU WASTE LEGISLATION

Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC) The aim of the Directive is to prevent or limit, as far as practicable, negative effects on the environment, in particular pollution by emissions into air, soil, surface and groundwater and the resulting risks to human health, from the incineration and co-incineration of waste.

The Directive seeks to achieve this high level of environmental and human health protection by requiring the setting and maintaining of stringent operational conditions, technical requirements and emission limit values for plants incinerating and co-incinerating waste throughout the EU.

Packaging and Packaging of Waste Directive (94/62/EC) The Directive sets minimum targets for recovery and recycling of materials, encourages the use of recycled packaging materials in the manufacturing of packaging as well as encouragement of reuse of packaging, and requires that all packaging placed on the market complies with the ‘essential requirements’ listed in the Directive.

End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive (2005/53/EC) The Directive aims to reduce waste arising from end-of-life vehicles. The scope of the Directive is limited to passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. The Directive covers aspects along the life cycle of a vehicle as well as aspects related to treatment operations. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive (2002/96/EC) The Directive aims to promote re-use, recycling and recovery of WEEE by encouraging producers and manufacturers of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) to set up collection systems and take-back schemes to reduce the amount of WEEE sent to landfill is reduced. The Directive seeks to improve the environmental performance of producers by encouraging them to design products that can be easily repaired, dismantled and recovered, re-used and recycled. Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (2008/1/EC) The Directive requires industrial and agricultural activities with a high pollution potential to have a permit which can only be issued if certain environmental conditions are met, so that the companies themselves bear responsibility for preventing and reducing any pollution they may cause. The Directive will be replaced by Directive 2010/75/EU on the 6th January 2014.

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The European Direction (2006/21/EC) on the Management of Waste from the Extractive Industries (Mining Waste Directive) (2006/21/EC) The Directive’s overall objective is to provide measures to prevent or reduce, as far as possible, any adverse effects on the environment as well as any resultant risk to human health from the management of waste from the extractive industries. The Waste Framework Directive excludes ‘waste from prospecting, extraction, treatment and storage of mineral resources and the working of quarries’ where they are covered by other legislation. Before the adoption of the Mining Waste Directive there was no specific EU legislation covering waste of this kind.

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APPENDIX 2

WELSH GOVERNMENT WASTE SECTOR PLANS

The draft Industrial and Commercial Sector Plan (2013)23 covers all products and wastes produced by the industrial and commercial sectors in Wales. It seeks to address issues in four key areas, focussing on priority materials:

i Waste prevention ii Preparing for reuse iii Recycling iv Treatment and disposal

The Construction and Demolition Sector Plan (2012)24 covers the waste generated by the Construction and Demolition (C&D) Sector including: • all types of construction development • each phase within those developments, and • waste generated by renovation and maintenance

of existing buildings The draft Food Manufacture, Service and Retail Sector Plan (2011)25 addresses waste management and resource efficiency in the sectors of food and drink; manufacturing; wholesale and retail; and services, including hospitality (e.g. restaurants, hotels, events) 23 http://wales.gov.uk/docs/desh/consultation/130513-industrial-commercial-sector-plan-en.pdf 24 http://wales.gov.uk/docs/desh/publications/121123wasteconstructionplanen.pdf 25 http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/environmentandcountryside/foodsectorplan/?lang=en

The Public Sector Plan will establish how the public sector in Wales will manage resources efficiently, develop sustainable procurement activities and prevent waste production arising from provision of services in relation to health care, education, local government, justice administration and emergency response in Wales. The Agriculture Sector Plan will focus on wastes produced by the agriculture sector in Wales up until the “farm gate”. It will identify opportunities for waste prevention, preparing for reuse, recycling (including composting and anaerobic digestion) and sustainable residual waste management.

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APPENDIX 3

CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA UDP: WASTE POLICIES

POLICY R12 – WASTE MANAGEMENT Proposals for the development of waste management facilities involving the transfer, treatment, re-use, recycling, in-vessel composting, energy recovery from waste, or open composting in farm locations, will be assessed against regional and local requirements. Proposals will be permitted within areas designated for B2 industrial use or having the benefit of lawful B2 use provided that there are no significant adverse effects in relation to:

i Scale and location i Public safety iii Amenity iv Transportation v Visual impact vi Natural heritage and historic environment, including water

quantity and quality and air pollution vii The type, quality and source of waste, and viii Relationship to adjoining land uses.

Proposals should conform to the principles of the waste hierarchy and the proximity principles and demonstrate the Best Practical Environment Option

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POLICY R13 – LANDFILL SITES Proposals for new, or the extension of existing, landfill sites will only be permitted where:

i It can be clearly demonstrated that additional capacity is required, ii Other options for the re-use and recovery of materials have been

considered and are not economically or environmentally feasible, iii It can clearly be demonstrated that:

a The site is not within an area at high risk of flooding (Zone C2) as defined by TAN 15, or

b Where the development is within Zone C1 the consequences of an extreme flood event can be acceptably managed, and

iv There would be no significant adverse effect on: a The natural heritage, cultural and historic environment, b The geology and hydrogeology of the site, c Controlled waters, including water quality and quantity d The amenities of neighbouring occupiers, including the affects

of traffic movement and the generation of noise, dust and fumes,

e The highway network, f Public safety, g The visual amenity of the site, and h The Proposal will not result in the permanent loss of Grades 1,

2 or 3a agricultural land The method of restoration on completion of the landfill process and the proposed afteruse will need to form part of the landfill proposal

POLICY R14 – SPECIAL/HAZARDOUS WASTE Development for the disposal, processing and storage of special/hazardous waste will only be permitted where there would be no significant adverse effect on:

i Natural heritage and the historic environment, ii The health and safety of the public, neighbouring land uses and

residential amenity

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POLICY R15 – CIVIC AMENITY SITES AND LOCAL FACILITIES Proposals for the development of neighbourhood facilities for the reception of household waste for recycling purposes (civic amenity sites or ‘bring-sites’) will be permitted where:

i The general location of the proposed development would have no significant adverse effect on the amenities of neighbouring occupiers, including the affect of traffic movements and the generation of noise, dust, fumes, litter and light,

ii There would be no significant adverse environmental impact, particularly on water quality and quantity,

iii The development would have no significant adverse effect on the visual amenities of the area,

iv The local traffic circulation systems are satisfactory, and safe access can be achieved,

v The design of any structures are to an acceptable standard and boundary treatment is provided,

vi The quality of the boundary treatment, such as fences and screening, are designed to a high standard and appropriate to the location of the site.

Proposals for the development of neighbourhood facilities for the reception of household waste for recycling purposes POLICY R16 – MAJOR NEW DEVELOPMENT WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES Proposals for major new developments will be required to incorporate adequate and effective waste management facilities POLICY R17 – AGRICULTURAL LAND – IMPORTED WASTE Proposals for the deposit of imported waste materials for the improvement of low-grade agricultural land will only be permitted where:

i It can be demonstrated that the improvement sought is reasonably necessary for the purpose of agriculture within the holding, and

ii The materials used are inert, and iii The volume of waste to be deposited is the minimum necessary to

achieve the improvement sought, and v There are no significant adverse impacts on nature conservation

resources of acknowledged concern, and vi It can be demonstrated that the existing site is not at risk of

flooding

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