More from Less
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Moving ForwardMore from Less sets out the overarching philosophy for the more efficient management of material resources in our area. It is a different way of doing business and considering our material needs and resource use. Once finalised, it will be the primary reference point for local strategies and initiatives to put the concepts into practice. It is however important that the means are developed over time to enable the proposals set out in this document to progress. As stated in the Philosophy section, the required material resource management approach is not easy or quick. We all need to change the way we do things, from individuals to the minerals and waste industry. This will be a long process. The judgements reflected in this document represent the best assessment of what might be achieved over the period to 2020. The price of new materials and the cost of dealing with waste will increase over time to a level that reflects the true costs to society. Whilst this is often presented as a burden, it will have a positive impact on climate change, improve our local environment, and create new business opportunities. By addressing the agenda now, we have a good opportunity to maximise the potential benefits. If all the proposals outlined in this document were fully implemented by 2020 they would:
The key delivery mechanisms by which More from Less can be put into practice are discussed below.
Despite what we may do locally, the vision will only become a reality if there is a supportive legislative and fiscal framework nationally. The major reason why we have had a ‘throw away’ culture in the UK is because we have had a system primarily driven by direct economic considerations. National policy is however changing. There is increasing recognition at EC and UK government levels that to ‘do nothing’ is not an option. As noted in Overview of the Problem, a range of EC Directives that will bring about fundamental change in the way resources managed are already influencing UK law. Changes in the pipeline at government level will make a big difference in creating the right climate for materials management. However, there is still more that needs to happen. It will be important that the local authorities and other community organisations continue to influence the EC, national Government and the Region to achieve the aspirations in this document. A key need is to provide Government with tangible real examples of implementing new projects on the ground within a sensible time-frame.
The South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) has responsibility for preparing the South East Plan. This will be the key strategic planning document for the region providing the template for local development frameworks. Material resources management issues should be integrated into the South East Plan and Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Councils should work to influence the Plan accordingly. This will help ensure that opportunities are maximised, for example by ensuring that new major development areas are planned to enable energy recovery utilisation to be optimised. These authorities should also seek to influence
sub-regional materials opportunities within adjacent counties such as
Surrey, West Sussex and the Isle of Wight as outlined in Need
for New Infrastructure. Community Strategies Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth and Southampton Unitary Authorities and the District and Borough Councils have a duty to facilitate the preparation of community strategies for their areas. These documents set out the key issues of concern to local communities and the actions that are needed in response. Community strategies are therefore very important in setting the agenda and informing priorities across the whole of the public sector. A key priority should be seeking to ensure the More from Less materials management philosophy is reflected in community strategies. The Environment Agency is taking a lead role in
coordinating the environmental aspects of the Hampshire-wide community
strategy, and material resources management is a key objective in this
work. Minerals and Waste Development Framework Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils and Hampshire County Council are Minerals and Waste Planning Authorities. They are now required to produce a Minerals and Waste Development Framework (MWDF) to replace the old Minerals and Waste Local Plan. The MWDF is a key means of implementing More from Less and the Minerals and Waste Planning Authorities should use their best endeavours to bring this about, subject to the outcome of formal Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment processes, and feedback from wider statutory public consultations. The MWDF will consist of a suite of documents that will set the strategic planning policy context for minerals and waste across the county and the two cities; identifying sites and/or areas for the location of resource extraction and processing facilities, and waste disposal facilities. The MWDF will also provide policies to be used when determining planning applications and set the context for enforcement action. The main outputs from the MWDF over the next three years are a Core Strategy, a Minerals Sites Document and a Waste Management Sites Document. There is a requirement for the wider community to be given opportunities to participate in the MWDF process and feed in their views. A Statement of Community Involvement must be prepared setting out how this will be achieved. The Core Strategy will paint a broad spatial picture showing areas where new facilities will be required but the real detail will be provided when work commences on site identification and appraisal for the Sites Documents. Milestones for the MWDF process are: Core Strategy:
Minerals and Waste Management Sites Plans (simultaneous production):
Implementing More from Less will give rise to difficult planning decisions over the siting of consenting of new facilities. In reaching such decisions it is necessary to balance the wider needs of society against the interests of local communities that may be affected by them, ensuring that any environmental impacts are reduced as far as practicable. It is important that local councillors who make such decisions receive appropriate training.
Each unitary, district and borough council is now required to produce a Local Development Framework (LDF). LDFs will replace local plans in guiding the future spatial planning of an area. With their function of allocating sites for particular uses, they will play a crucial role in putting More from Less into practice. LDFs should take into account sites safeguarded through the MWDF and reflect More from Less principles. As more materials are recovered, the need may arise to identify further industrial sites to accommodate manufacturing plant to make new products from recycled materials. LDFs will also be able to encourage the integration of material resources management and closed-loop systems into new large development areas from the outset.
The County, Unitary, and District and Borough Councils have statutory responsibilities for the collection and management of municipal (largely household) waste. These responsibilities are discharged in Hampshire through Project Integra (PI) and the policies adopted by PI are crucial to facilitating the materials agenda. The PI decision in the 1990s to invest in a quality new municipal waste recycling and recovery infrastructure was a forward thinking decision and we are ahead of the rest of the country in complying with new municipal waste legislation and targets. That said, More from Less highlights a range of key challenges for PI and the partnership must evolve and develop to respond to them. The Project Integra partners need to update the current Project Integra strategy and develop this into an implementation plan. This work, which is currently underway, provides an important opportunity to further embed material management principles and maximise synergies with commercial waste. A key issue for PI is to maximise affordability and value for money for the council tax payers, including optimising recycling performance across the PI partnership, and maximising cost efficiencies through economies of scale and joint working.
PI is also implementing a major programme of research
and awareness-raising to increase understanding of, and participation
in, reducing household waste volumes and increasing recycling. This work
has links with NRI organisation set out below: Integrated Process Chain Delivery Work
The Natural Resources Initiative (NRI) was launched in September 2002 with the aim of providing a focus for local community action in conserving and using natural resources more efficiently. The full NRI vision includes all natural resources (energy, water, soil, etc.) in addition to materials, as all elements are inter-linked and many initiatives can relate to more than just materials. Hampshire County Council, working with colleagues in Portsmouth and Southampton, is co-ordinating NRI. The idea is that the local authorities, working through a small team, can co-ordinate and influence a range of multi-sector networks across our area to make a real difference. All sectors must play their part if we are to respond to the challenges we face. Businesses and community groups are therefore key partners. NRI should take the lead, with colleagues in Project Integra, in coordination of actions to implement the proposals in this document for increasing resource efficiency and reducing wastage. This involves working with local networks to influence the links in the process chain associated with the life-cycle of goods and products, and supporting projects that demonstrate good practice. The diagram above sets out this delivery model. Work is already happening. It is important that there is strong community input into NRI and it is proposed to re-invigorate the community input into NRI in Spring 2005. An advisory group with a range of community inputs should provide leadership and direction for the sector groups. It should involve interests from each of the sectors in determining shared priorities and the development of a coordinated and integrated delivery programme.
All stakeholders involved in the preparation of More from Less should promote the philosophy and ‘do their bit’ to implement it. There are also opportunities for community and industry representatives to continue involvement through the on-going work on the Minerals and Waste Development Framework, Project Integra and NRI. A number of stakeholders expressed their enthusiasm to continue with the delivery of the outcomes, and it is important to build this. Regular newsletters on progress will be sent to all the people on the Material Resources database. It is also proposed to hold an annual meeting of all the stakeholders involved in the preparation of this document so that progress in implementing through the various strands can be reviewed.
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