UK and EU regulations covering waste going to landfill, recycling and broader environmental targets have all assisted growth within the UK’s waste management industry.
The UK’s waste management industry has experienced extensive growth in recent years thanks to environmental regulations.
Figures indicate that the industry grew in value by 22.3% between 2009 and 2012, with additional growth of 5% estimated for 2013.
Between 2008/2009 and 2012/2013, the volume of municipal waste entering landfill decreased by 38.4%, while the amount of recycled/composted waste increased by 5.2%. The volume of waste incinerated also showed an increase, including energy from waste, which rose by a total of 65.6%.Waste management in other parts of the UK followed a similar trend to that in England. Between 2008/2009 and 2012/2013, the amount of municipal waste recycled in Wales grew by 22.6%, while the amount sent to landfill fell by 38.1%. In Northern Ireland, the amount of waste sent to landfill declined by 29.6% over the five-year period, while the amount of waste recycled and composted increased by 3.4% and 22.2%, respectively.
Due to government’s effort to meet the increasingly stringent environmental regulations and European landfill, recovery and recycling targets, the UK waste management market is expected to grow by 13.6% in value terms between 2014 and 2018.
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