The waste hierarchy: How it works and why it matters

The waste hierarchy is a useful framework laid out by the UK government to help businesses, organisations and residents make the best decisions about their rubbish.

It was designed to prioritise waste management strategies according to their environmental impact and has led to reductions in waste, better recycling habits and lower volumes of rubbish being sent to landfill.

But are you breaking the law if you don’t follow the waste hierarchy to the letter? Could the waste hierarchy evolve on the journey to zero landfill in 2050? And how does the waste hierarchy apply to the average person’s rubbish generation?

The five stages of the waste hierarchy

Let’s begin with a breakdown of what the waste hierarchy actually is and how it works.

The waste hierarchy has been UK policy since the 1990s. From top to bottom, it orders waste management strategies in order of preference from the best option to the worst.

The five stages of the waste hierarchy are prevention, preparing for reuse, recycling, other recovery and disposal.

Prevention

Working to stop waste being generated in the first place fits right at the top of the hierarchy, because if rubbish can be prevented, there’s nothing much else to do.

Waste prevention is a key part of the UK’s Resources and Waste Strategy for England (published in 2018), which aims to “preserve our stock of material resources by minimising waste, promoting resource efficiency and moving towards a circular economy”.

In construction, this might mean making better calculations to avoid buying building materials that won’t be used. In the retail industry, shops are under pressure to stop deliberately destroying goods for tax write-offs and to protect the value of their merchandise by blocking donations.

Preparing for reuse

Reusing products and packaging rather than throwing them away is the second stage. It’s similar to prevention in that it eliminates the need to manage the waste.

Plastic pots can often be put to good use as kitchen storage, while water bottles can be refilled instead of constantly buying new ones.

Buying products second-hand is another great way to keep products in the circular economy. Reconditioned electronics offer great value for money and usually come with a guarantee just like a brand new product.

Recycling

While not the best option in the waste hierarchy, recycling can work well to divert waste from landfill.

Unfortunately, recycling some materials is more complex than a lot of people think. Plastic, for example, can only be recycled a certain number of times via traditional methods before the polymers break down too far.

SunSkips managing director Mat Stewart argues that some plastic waste would better serve the country as fuel, due to the complexities of getting value out of it by recycling.

Recovery

Technology is making waste recovery a more realistic option to reintroduce waste into the circular economy rather than it ending up in landfill.

Energy from waste converts everyday rubbish into useful fuel to power homes and industry, and it’s fast becoming more advanced.

MORE: Planes could run on Cambridgeshire and Suffolk waste by 2050

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste can be recovered and processed into aggregate for use in concrete and road development. The industry is responsible for almost a third (62%) of total UK waste, but fortunately has a high recovery rate in the UK at 93%.

SunSkips has lodged plans for a new site in Thetford that could save the area from shipping 100,000 tonnes of construction waste to landfill. The proposed new site would specialise in cleaning soil and aggregate so it can be reintroduced back into the circular economy.

MORE: Construction waste disposal: How to save money and avoid penalties

Disposal

Landfill disposal is the last resort of the waste hierarchy.

Only non-recyclable and non-recoverable waste should end up in a landfill site due to the scarce land it requires to hold it and the greenhouse gases it gives off.

Methane gas from rotting landfill waste is 25 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.

Is the waste hierarchy a legal requirement?

Under the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, any business or organisation that handles waste in the countries is required to “take all such measures available to it as are reasonable in the circumstances.”

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the priority order has to be followed, as long as the “best overall environmental outcome” is achieved.

For example, a waste handler might choose to move onto a lower priority stage of the waste hierarchy if they don’t have the economic resources available to do it.

So legally speaking, the waste hierarchy is a guide to help anyone that produces, transports or manages waste to make the best decision given their circumstances. However, waste transfer notes, essential legal documents for moving waste from one party to another, must declare that the waste hierarchy has been applied and be signed by both parties.

Other benefits of the waste hierarchy

The objective of the waste hierarchy is environmental protection, from conservation of natural resources to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

But there are some nice side benefits too, which make following the waste hierarchy a win-win strategy for all concerned.

The fact that landfill disposal is the absolute last resort of the waste hierarchy means businesses can save huge sums of money by following it. Landfill tax for general waste is currently £102.10 per tonne, whereas inert or inactive waste costs £3.25 per tonne (rates correct at time of publishing).

Recycling and recovery are also booming industries that create jobs in and boost local economies.

MORE: Sustainable building materials: Is this the end of concrete?

How to make waste hierarchy decisions in your day-to-day life

The waste hierarchy is a useful concept even for individuals to help make better decisions about what to do with waste:

• Choose products with minimal packaging or with reusable or refillable options whenever possible.
• Properly separate waste and packaging that can’t be reused and recycle following your local authority’s guidance (Suffolk has an incredible online resource for recycling).
• For larger clearouts, choose sustainable skip hire services like SunSkips that you can guarantee treat waste according to the waste hierarchy.
• Participate in local recycling initiatives and support businesses that prioritise sustainability and responsible waste management.

MORE: The five Rs of waste: Refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle

Why use a waste management provider that follows the waste hierarchy

While it’s very important to adhere to the waste hierarchy, it can make life infinitely easier when you can rely on a skip hire company to separate your waste off site and run everything through a sophisticated screening line.

MORE: Why care about SunSkips’ pledge to sustainable waste management?

SunSkips also sends waste not fit for recycling to be used as solid recovered fuel (SRF), which fits into the recovery stage of the waste hierarchy. This is mostly household and commercial waste that would normally go to landfill, like soft plastics, contaminated paper and cardboard.

With so much to think about when you’re managing a construction project or moving house, applying the waste hierarchy to everything you’re doing can be an added hassle that makes it hard to do right.

But you can trust SunSkips to prioritise the environment when managing your waste, as well as delivering the waste transfer note to prove it.

SunSkips is proud to be a compliant and sustainable skip hire company serving Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. To learn more about how SunSkips can help with your waste management, get in touch with our friendly team today.