Introduction
The Waste Framework Directive is a European Union memorandum which establishes basic notions as well as depictions so that the management of waste can be undertaken in an environment-friendly manner. In this way, adverse influences on the environment can be curtailed and the targets of this framework can be achieved without even threatening the health of human beings. Apart from that, the plants and animals can never feel the harm of the negative effects that have been experienced in the current scenario (Europa.eu, 2024). This essay revolves around the targets of WFD that need to be evaluated so that the UK can be able to cope with the concerns related to MSW management.
Main Body
Part A
Evaluation of the list of targets of the amended Waste Framework Directive (WFD) that the UK would like to meet
With the objective of perceiving the list of targets of the transformed Waste Framework Directive (WFD) that took place in 2018, it can be understood that English and Welsh Law was changed on 1st October 2020 and the transformations that had been witnessed were incorporated for the betterment of the environment as well (Go
, 2024). In connection with this, some key objectives and thoughts for commencing the strategies related to waste management have been illustrated in this discussion. In this respect, with the objective of maintaining the equilibrium in the environment so that each and every individual can take responsibility for developing an eco-friendly attitude, some significant targets have been taken into consideration so that beneficial aspects can be carried on in the near future.
With the objective of defining the targets, the researchers are of the opinion that the waste materials need to be recycled and preparation for the re-utilisation of the products can be made possible for all households in the upcoming days. Along with that, individuals should keep in mind that the waste materials that can be recycled would be elevated to the extent of 50% and this necessary improvement can bring forth several changes in the environment in the imminent days (Europa.eu, 2024). On the other hand, it can be understood that the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) that has been modified in 2018, has not illustrated terminologies such as “material cycles” and “circular economy”. In this context, the re-utilisation of 55% of Municipal Waste which could be possible by 2025, has been already depicted in the representation of WFD so that the target can be fruitful by the estimated period in a coherent manner (Friege et al., 2019). Therefore, an order of preference has been prepared for administering the management of waste and disposed products in an environment-friendly manner.
Apart from that, backfilling operations have also been adopted in order to use waste materials so that other materials can be replaced. In this respect, it has been aimed at by the European Union that the establishment of recycled products, as well as non-hazardous construction, needs to be expanded to a minimum of 70% in subsequent time (Europa.eu, 2024). In addition to that, it has been depicted that The Commission can be helpful in order to guide the citizens in order to tackle the situation and gather data regarding municipal waste which could be useful for obtaining favourable objects in the imminent days.
Part B
Generation of MSW in England per year
Knowledge obtained regarding the generation of Municipal Solid Waste in England per year indicates 23.1 Million Metric tons which are mostly disposed of in landfills and household waste (Alves, 2024). The approach of managing the waste and reducing its environmental impact occurs with the following recycling measures or processes and most of the waste also gets used in landfilling, recycling and incineration.
Figure 1: Mass Diagram of MSW Management
(Source: Mukherjee et al., 2020)
According to the representation of the mass flow diagram of MSW here represents the way household waste and other sectoral waste get received the way it gets recycled and reused as energy sources (Mukherjee et al., 2020). Based on the consideration of available secondary data, the mass flow diagram of MSW represents that the received set of waste gets managed through thermal treatment option, incineration or combustion, and eventually goes through recycling and reuse with the purpose of using it in landfilling or to generate energy resources altogether (Kaur et al., 2023). The consideration of the life cycle assessment of the MSW also represents generation, storage, collection, transferring, processing and disposal. The aspect of understanding this process is highly essential to determine the way England can consider the achievement of sustainability.
Discussion on whether the available MSW management facilities are adequate for the treatment of MSW
The present MSW management facility being established in England has been changed over the years and it essentially has evolved with the purpose of recycling, reusing and landfilling in most parts. Currently, the region is essentially focused on the purpose of either landfilling or considering following the process of incineration the most due to the present benefit of reducing 80% of the MSW. evidence-based knowledge also argues the fact that according to the EU Landfilling Directive, Landfilling activity is considered one of the least preferable disposable methods in England (Wang et al., 2020).
The primary reason behind such ineffectiveness against landfilling is related to its higher contamination possibility of soil and water due to greenhouse gas emissions and leachate seepage which results from the decomposition of biodegradable waste (Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, 2021).
On the other hand, the Incineration process of managing MSW is considered highly beneficial for England because it ensures the reduction of landfill mass along with reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 99% (Wang et al., 2020). Thus, with the consideration of evaluating whether the MSW process presented in England is beneficial or suitable to enhance sustainability or not, the incineration process can be considered suitable and reliable here.
Recommendations to help Defra monitor and access the sustainability of the current MSW management
The approach of helping Defra in monitoring and assessing the sustainability of the current MSW management considering its connection with The Water Framework Directive 18 is prominent in the evaluation of environmental, economic, technical and social value areas.
Environmental
The primary environmental factors related to landfilling and incineration MSW management technique in England indicate the approach of landfilling causing greater amounts of environmental degradation and the avoidance of the specific quality measures that are being established by The Water Framework Directive 18 of avoiding some specific chemical pollutants (Environment.ec.europa.eu, 2024).
Thus, with the necessity of achieving environmental value, it is essential to consider the Incineration process of municipal solid waste management as this is known to generate lesser impact on the environment and ensures following the specific guidelines, measures and objectives of WFD18 (Lara et al., 2022). Thus, in order to help Defra assess the sustainability of the current MSW management techniques, incineration needs to be considered here.
Economic
In terms of assessing the economic value of the MSW process being followed in England, the current situation indicates the CAPEX being under low cost whereas the OPEX requires a higher cost for the effective performance and management of landfilling activity (Gov. uk, 2023). According to the consideration of CAPEX and OPEX, the current revenue which England is achieving after selling the recyclable material indicates £1.4 Billion.
On the other hand, in economic terms, the growth of the landfilling or incineration process also has expanded the job opportunities for potential job markets and it is also proving to be economically feasible where the environment is degraded and impacted by pollution due to the ineffectiveness of landfilling activity (Environment.ec.europa.eu, 2024).
Technical
The consideration of the technological factors which are essentially related to landfilling or incineration MSW management in England represents the establishment of technology like Landfill gas capture systems, incineration technologies, advanced thermal treatment, and plasma gasification. Each of these technological innovations is proving to be effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to a great extent while reducing mass waste by 80% (Foster et al., 2021).
However, as compared to the WFD18, the technologies are not efficient enough to comprehensively reduce or remove the toxic materials that are present in the waste and such ineffectiveness is essentially contaminating the Good Water Status that WFD18 has aimed to achieve by 2027 (Environment.ec.europa.eu, 2024).
Social Value
When it comes to assessing the social value which is connected to the landfill and incineration MSW management in England towards the achievement of sustainability, the process of landfilling and incineration is essentially establishing new health challenges for the population by contaminating the soil, water and air by Co2 generation (Tait et al., 2020).
The occurrences of health impact are prominent with the produced leachate and greenhouse gas from landfilling and also the inability of incineration technology to remove the specific pollutants that WFD18 has asked for (Environment.ec.europa.eu, 2024). This is essentially generating societal challenges and the establishment of various public health concerns.
Part C
How value may change in accordance with the four areas outlined in Part B
Based on the identification of the economic, environmental, technological and social challenges emerging from the presented MSW management process in England, it is essential for Defra to look after establishing measures in the four areas in order to ensure achieving viable and feasible change in the system.
The first viable or feasible approach which can be achieved in the process of landfilling and incineration in environmental terms indicates the establishment of policy measures which will ensure the reduction of waste being received for landfilling (Ghasemi and Moghaddam, 2020). This also asks for the approach of changing the ‘Guidance on applying the waste hierarchy’ (2011) as well as the change of landfilling or incineration process.
Figure 2: Guidance on applying the waste hierarchy
(Source: Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, 2011).
Another set of approaches towards achieving viable and feasible change in the MSW process related to landfilling and incineration indicates the establishment of technological machinery and equipment which will look after the recycling and mitigation of specific pollutants from the waste materials. In this process, considering the ‘Guidance on applying the waste hierarchy’ and ensuring the application of the technology at the re-use stage and recycling stage is essential before receiving the waste to perform landfilling or incineration (Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, 2011).
In terms of the consideration of enhancing societal value, it is essential for the establishment of possible legal rules and regulations along with the approach of performing policy change in the society of England. This will essentially contribute towards the spread of awareness regarding the reduction of generating waste as well as the reduction of household waste before it gets received or transferred in the landfilling or incineration process (Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, 2024). The approach of helping the societal people identify the way they can unlock the value themselves and ensure the waste generation in household activity, can essentially keep the society safe from harmful pollution and pollutants.
The consideration of each of these factors is prominent towards changing the value in the aforementioned areas with the approach of making viable and feasible changes in the system.
What policies does Defra need to introduce for the management of MSW
According to the approach of Defra in ensuring policy changes to address new regulations and policy measures towards the management of MSW essentially indicates the adaptation of new policy measures and guidance with the existing ones.
Improvement of the UK Plastic Pact
The first policy measure which can be introduced by Defra against MSW management indicates promoting change in the UK Plastic Pact. This is because the established policy is currently focused towards encouraging society to use recycled plastic instead of using any new plastic (Consult.defra.gov.uk, 2020). Thus, a critical argument here justifies that if most of the plastic products and goods are also being manufactured with recyclable plastic, this essentially will enhance the possibility of recycling household waste before it goes to the process of landfilling and incineration.
Increasing the responsibility of packaging producers
This approach of reducing the possibility of environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emission from MSW indicates the usage of packaging materials that are recyclable and reusable and do not harm the water, soil or air by causing pollution, Thus, the necessity of packaging manufacturers in following policy protocol and regulation along with sustainable materials for the creation of packaging items that will not cause any impact after being received in the landfilling or incineration process in England (Consult.defra.gov.uk, 2020). Moreover, the necessity of implementing higher cost on using toxic packaging along with the closure of toxic packaging manufacturing activity is also essential to include in the policy change.
Improvement in the policy of Courtauld Commitment
According to the purpose of the Courtauld Commitment established in the UK, this represents the necessity of all large and small organisations operating in the country to act collaboratively on the biggest challenge of sustainability mostly in the food and drink sector (Wrap.org.uk, 2024).
Thus, with the approach of the commitment to reducing the generation of food and drink items without the usage of any preservatives and chemicals that have a possibility to contaminate the water or soil, improvement in these measures of manufacturing and production is essential (Malinauskaite et al., 2017).
Moreover, the usage of recyclable materials that do not cause any harm to the environment rather than being considered as solid waste, will also promote the reduction of household waste to a great extent.
Improvement of Waste Management Infrastructure
The approach of Defra in ensuring that the newly introduced MSW management system is more circular and improved towards the betterment of the environment, evidence-based knowledge justifies that the present Resources and Waste Strategy is only focused towards spreading awareness on sustainability and doing the right thing for the society (Wrap.org.uk, 2024).
However, the change aspect which can be adapted in the strategy indicates the closure of the landfilling and incineration process within the upcoming year with the purpose of enhancing recycling and reusing capability by society (Wrap.org.uk, 2024). This will essentially be possible with the adaptation of new technological measures that will manufacture and recycle the waste items and also the development of energy resources from the waste without causing any environmental degradation or greenhouse gas emission.
In this way, the approach of performing a critical analysis on the new policy measures changes that can be achieved by Defra in order to make changes in the mSW management process in England, the aforementioned measures have been evaluated here.
Conclusion and Recommendations
It can be concluded here from the overall establishment of the report that the establishment of the WFD in the UK has taken the approach of enhancing recycling, reusing and reducing the generation of municipal solid waste to a great extent. According to the established measures against MSW management, the report has managed to identify the current concerns that have been causing environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions in England to a great extent.
This essentially represents the process of landfilling and incineration that is known to harm the water, soil and air by polluting it with specific pollutants. In this context, with the identification of the amount of MSW being generated in England per year and the representation of the mass flow diagram, assessing the various streams of MSW has been conducted here.
This essentially has helped in identifying the way both processes are known to generate greater environmental, economic, social and technological challenges in England. In this way, with the establishment of new policy measures and recommending the way Defra can make change in the process of reducing waste as well as its impact on the environment, a critical argument has been presented here.
This also ensures recommending the next factor of developing new policy measures throughout the region and ensuring the reduction of sustainability challenges not only with municipal Waste reduction but also with the consideration of other sectoral waste that also holds the possibility to contaminate the environment. Moreover, the approach of performing public awareness campaigns and helping people to follow the measures of reusing their waste in different terms, this recommended action is also prominent and justified here.
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