Title

Recycling end destination tonnages

Last update

13 July 2016 13 July 2016

Next update

July 2017 (provisional)

Publishing organisation

Welsh Government

Source 1

WasteDataFlow, Natural Resources Wales

Contact email

WasteStrategy@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Designation

Management information

Lowest level of geographical disaggregation

Local authorities

Geographical coverage

Wales

Languages covered

English only

Data licensing

You may use and re-use this data free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government License - see http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence

General description

This dataset shows the flows of major recyclable material types from each local authority to each destination facility. Only flows of the selected material types are included and any flows of less than 1 tonne are excluded. A second dataset which shows the flows of all recyclable material types, including those of less than 1 tonne but broken down by destination facility type (rather than the individual destinations) is also provided in the same part of the catalogue. As such this second dataset includes totals over all recyclable material types and destinations to give a feel for the total activity in Wales in respect of waste destinations. However, if the user wishes to analyse flows to individual facilities, they must use this dataset.

Due to the size of this dataset, it is not advisable to change the orientation of the data displayed by default. There are two default views set so the user can select the local authority and either the time period or material type of interest in the filters, and the user is advised to retain one of these two default views. If the user ‘drags’ the dimensions around the screen (as is possible with most StatsWales datasets), it is expected that he or she will experience a very slow response, and also an inconvenient on-screen format.

Recyclable materials are deemed as having reached an end destination when they are recycled into a product, material or substance. End destinations also include landfill sites and incineration facilities. Some local authorities may have selected the headquarters address of waste sites in the UK when selecting the destination, which may not necessarily be the exact site where the waste is sent.

Regulation 4 of the Recycling, Preparation for Reuse and Composting Targets (Monitoring and Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2011, local authorities must maintain records containing information on the total amount of its municipal waste, the total amount of waste sent to each and every waste facility by the local authority.

Regulation 5 (2) (c) of the Recycling, Preparation for Reuse and Composting Targets (Monitoring and Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2011 must submit returns containing the information under Regulation 4 using the WasteDataFlow system.

Question 100 in WasteDataFlow offers flexible and detailed reporting for municipal waste after it has been collected by local authorities. This question should be used to record waste sent for treatment or disposal. The end of each route must be the point the waste becomes a resource, or when it is disposed of. The question can be used for all waste streams and all authorities in Wales record information on the destinations of their waste via Question 100.

The list of permitted sites in WasteDataFlow is updated on a regular basis from the Natural Resource Wales’ (NRW) permit data base, and can be updated on an ad-hoc basis by NRW following identification of a newly permitted or change of permitted facility. In the main this data relates to permanent full permits and some major permitted exemptions, although it does not cover all permitted exemptions, perhaps due to being temporary in their operation. Where a local authority has used a permitted exempt site, or a facility that cannot be identified in the lists, the tonnage is entered against the ‘other/exempt’ facility, and shown in this dataset against ‘all other exempt facilities’. However, it is expected that the local authority would request support from NRW to confirm the facility is not listed before using the ‘other/exempt’ facility on WasteDataFlow.

The totals of these tables will not equate to total waste arisings (total local authority municipal waste) due to a number of factors, such as stockpiling of waste, time lag in waste movements and data reporting, differences in weigh-bridge calibrations, water evaporation during storage and movement, recovery from residual waste, etc.

The total of the figures in these tables will also not equate to Welsh Government performance indicators and targets, such as those for the Recycling, Preparation for Reuse and Composting Targets (Monitoring and Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2011 and the Landfill Allowances Scheme (Wales) Regulations 2004 due to the specific requirements of their calculations.

Data collection and calculation

WasteDataFlow is the data management system to which local authorities report their municipal waste data. The individual flows are then aggregated over the quarters, material types and facility types to derive the data shown here, which covers the subset of recyclable materials within all municipal waste.

Frequency of publication

Annual

Data reference periods

Data are updated annually but available for each quarter in each year.

Users, uses and context

These data are provided to support strategic planning and benchmarking around recycling and waste management. The primary users are Welsh Goverment, Natural Resources Wales and local authorities.

Rounding applied

There is no rounding applied to the data.

Revisions information

The data are not generally subject to revision once published.

Statistical quality

Local authorities in Wales are required to report quarterly information on local authority collected municipal waste which includes the amount of local authority municipal waste sent to landfills and the amount of local authority municipal waste sent to other facilities. This information is submitted by local authorities via WasteDataFlow. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is the designated monitoring authority for The Recycling, Preparation for Reuse and Composting Targets (Monitoring and Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2011 and Landfill Allowances Scheme (Wales) Regulations 2004. NRW validate local authority data on a quarterly basis performing a series of data quality checks. This validation includes cross checks against WasteDataFlow and site return data for landfill, and requests for evidence from local authorities on the final fate of their recovered waste.

Various controls are placed on the system which means the data are considered of sufficient quality to accurately report aggregated statistics against. For example, if a local authority wishes to record data against a facility that is not listed, it is expected that they would request support from Natural Resources Wales to confirm the facility is not a permitted site before using the ‘other/exempt’ facility on WasteDataFlow.

Question 100 in WasteDataFlow offers flexible and detailed reporting for municipal waste after it has been collected by local authorities. This question should be used to record waste sent for treatment or disposal. The end of each route must be the point the waste becomes a resource, or when it is disposed of. The question can be used for all waste streams and all authorities in Wales record information on the destinations of their waste via Question 100. Local authorities are requested, as much as possible, to keep material types consistent when reporting waste flows to question 100, i.e. if target material were glass, then all rejects would be shown as glass even if it were a different, non-target material. Generally authorities are unable to identify the composition of the rejected material. Therefore, the materials shown as being sent to a non-recycling/reuse/composting facility type, such as incineration, RDF, MRF etc, may not actually be the material type listed.

The exporter facility type is used mainly where an authority cannot identify the recovery facility used outside of the UK, only the destination country. Due to legal restrictions on waste leaving the UK for disposal this waste can be considered as recovered. Welsh Government draft guidance states that local authorities are required to identify the first country to which material is intended for recovery.

WasteDataFlow does not include an aggregates material type, therefore the ‘rubble’ material type is used for aggregate type materials such as sand, stone and gravel, and other recovered materials from road wastes.

The totals of these tables will not equate to total waste arisings (total local authority municipal waste) due to a number of factors, such as stockpiling of waste, time lag in waste movements and data reporting, differences in weigh-bridge calibrations, water evaporation during storage and movement, recovery from residual waste, etc.

The total of the figures in these tables will also not equate to Welsh Government performance indicators and targets, such as those for the Recycling, Preparation for Reuse and Composting Targets (Monitoring and Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2011 and the Landfill Allowances Scheme (Wales) Regulations 2004 due to the specific requirements of their calculations.

Weblinks

http://www.wastedataflow.org/home.aspx

Keywords

Waste; recycling; recyclables; recycling destinations

Name

Envi0101