Final consultation on Devon Waste Plan

The final consultation on Devon County Council’s new Waste Plan started yesterday (Monday 2 December) and runs for 12 weeks.

The Devon Waste Plan and all representations made on the plan will be submitted to the Government for examination by a planning inspector after this latest consultation ends on 24 February 2014.

The document has undergone two previous rounds of public consultation, with a number of public exhibitions being held at locations across the county since work on the plan started in Spring 2010. The latest “pre-submission” version of the plan has been informed by feedback from these previous consultations to set out policies for the next 18 years on how to deal with the two million tonnes of waste generated annually in Devon.

The plan aims to increase recycling of household and business waste to levels of at least 64% by 2031, and disposal of waste is intended to account for less than 5%. New landfill or other disposal will only be allowed where there is a demonstrable need. Devon’s “energy recovery” need is forecast at approximately 437,000 tonnes, and of this 60,000 tonnes will be delivered through the Energy from Waste plant in Plymouth.

Energy recovery can include anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, gasification, or incineration. As the Waste Plan looks so far ahead, it does not prescribe the type of facilities that may be appropriate in each location, so as not to rule out any innovative or sustainable technologies coming forward in future, and the County Council has no proposals itself for building waste facilities at any of the site options.

Councillor James McInnes, Chairman of Devon County Council’s Develop Management Committee, said: “The feedback we have received from organisations, stakeholders and individuals during previous consultations has helped shape the current draft of Devon Waste Plan. We hope that involvement continues now that we have reached this crucial phase ahead of the submission of the document to Government.

“Devon is among the top three performing counties in the country when it comes to recycling waste, with a recycling rate of around 55% of household and business waste, and we must continue that progress towards more sustainable waste management. The Devon Waste Plan recognises the increasing importance of treating waste as a valuable resource rather than merely as a problem. It emphasises the need to increase the recovery of materials from mixed waste for subsequent reuse or recycling, and to achieve the most efficient use of the energy that can be obtained from the residual waste.”

There are currently two operational energy recovery facilities in Devon – anaerobic digestion plants at Holsworthy and Langage Farm. Energy from waste incinerators are currently under construction at Exeter and Plymouth, and planning permission has been granted to sites for advanced anaerobic digestion at Lee Moor and pyrolysis and gasification at Hill Barton, but construction is yet to get underway.

Based on the comments received from last summer’s public consultation on the “preferred strategy” of the Waste Plan, further site appraisal work has been undertaken at five proposed sites, including the revision of site boundaries.

Greendale Barton, Hill Barton, Tiverton Eastern Urban Extension and Heathfield all remain in the Waste Plan as proposed site allocations for energy recovery but Roundswell, which was in the preferred strategy, is no longer being considered as a site for energy recovery. 15 other potential sites across Devon were put forward as alternatives, including a site at Brynsworthy, near Barnstaple, which was suggested in the responses from North Devon and Torridge Local Development Framework Joint Working Group and 14 others.

Following an appraisal of all of these sites by the County Council, the Brynsworthy site was found to have sufficient merit for further exploration as a site for energy recovery, and following an additional consultation specifically on the Brynsworthy site in July and August, it has now been included within the draft plan as a proposed site.

The Devon Waste Plan and supporting evidence, together with details of local exhibitions and how to submit comments, can be found on Devon County Council’s website at www.devon.gov.uk/dwp2013. Alternatively, enquiries can be made by telephone on 0845 155 1015 or email wasteplanning@devon.gov.uk