Briefing: Energy from waste, finally coming of age?

The UK coalition government’s review of waste policy in England was published in June 2011, after a year of deliberation. To the disappointment of many commentators it did not embrace ambitious new targets or set out a definitive road map for attaining existing ones. Instead, it gave a cautious assessment of how existing mandatory obligations might be met. In doing so, the review recognised the primacy of the waste hierarchy in guiding decision making. However, it emphasised that the statutory basis for the hierarchy permits a significant degree of flexibility to reflect social, economic and environmental considerations. This is especially pertinent at the boundary between recycling and recovery, where various cost, environmental and social considerations around energy and climate change may tilt the balance in favour of energy recovery. This briefing explores the dynamics of this interpretation of the waste hierarchy and its implications for energy from waste development in future.