Defra 2010 report on waste statistics

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs published an interim report today (November 10) on its findings for commercial and industrial (C&I) waste.


The report, Survey of Commercial and Industrial Waste Arisings 2010, finds that industrial waste has declined while commercial waste has increased.

It also reports a fall in total waste generation compared to the last survey conducted in 2002/3.

The results provide estimates of the amount of waste that businesses generate and how it is managed.

The survey bases its information on face-to-face and telephone interviews with businesses and data directly supplied by industry.

The survey covered eight regions in England and examined waste arisings for 2009. North West England was surveyed separately in 2009 for 2008/9 and the region was not resurveyed for the current Defra report as it was not considered a justifiable use of public resources.

The data from the North West survey has been incorporated into the current report to calculate the overall estimates.

The findings show that total C&I waste arisings in England in 2009 are estimated at 55.8 million tonnes. The industrial sector accounts for 20.5 million tonnes, or 37%, with the commercial sector accounting for 35.3 million tonnes, or 63%.

The data is broken down into business sector, material type and waste management method. The decline in industrial waste and the increase in commercial waste are thought to reflect trends in business demography and the move towards a more service based economy.

The recycling rate (including reuse) is up at 58% from 43% in the last survey and there is a decrease in waste sent to landfill. These trends may reflect more awareness among businesses of waste and recycling issues.

The final survey results will be published in December 2010. The total survey will include a sample size of 6,000 businesses. The current estimates are based on approximately 60% of the total sample size.

You can see the detailed report here.

Alison Brown

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