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Waste triangle - reduce, reuse, recycle

The UK Government's 2007 Waste Strategy sets out the recommended hierarchy for waste management:

1) Waste Prevention (Reduce)
2) Reuse
3) Recycle/compost
4) Energy Recovery
5) Disposal

 The hierarchy aims to reduce resource use and the amount of waste going to landfill, to generate environmental and economic benefits. Landfill - Site for the disposal of waste materials by burial. Landfill tax was introduced in 1996 and has since increased according to the landfill tax escalator, to discourage the use of landfills, substantially reducing construction and demolition waste going to landfill. Further changes to the way in which waste is disposed of in the UK are being introduced by the Landfill Directive. For example, from November 2007 landfills will no longer be able to accept untreated wastes or liquid waste. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) aims to minimise the impact of electrical and electronic goods on the environment, by increasing re-use and recycling and reducing the amount of WEEE going to landfill. It seeks to achieve this by making producers responsible for financing the collection, treatment, and recovery of waste electrical equipment, and by obliging distributors to allow consumers to return their waste equipment free of charge.

Related terms:

• Eco-efficiency
• Ecology
• Life cycle assessment (LCA )
• Pollution
• Resource depletion
• Water quality
• Zero carbon/waste/Water