Waste is now widely recognised as a resource to be exploited rather than as a problem to be solved. The infrastructure and buildings developed to realise the resource and energy potential from waste will often be at the heart of our communities and not hidden away. In the past there has been heavy emphasis on the role of landfill in the UK. However, as a result of European and national legislative drivers to recover resources this is changing.
There is an urgent need to recover more value from our waste and there are strong fiscal incentives to do so. A new era in the history of waste management in the UK is now underway.
The only way that the required change in approach will be achieved is through the delivery of new facilities using a range of treatment techniques and technologies. Facilities will be required at all scales, from civic amenity sites to energy from waste plants. Many new facilities have already been developed or are currently going through design and planning stages but the peak in new development is expected between 2010 and 2015.