Why be WasteAware?
Hertfordshire's Waste Problem
Society today produces more waste than ever before. Each year the average Hertfordshire household produces over a tonne of waste, which is then collected by the District or Borough Council, or taken to Hertfordshire's Household Waste Recycling Centres. This adds up to a staggering half a million tonnes of waste being produced in Hertfordshire every year - enough to fill the Titanic over five times!
Growth of Hertfordshire's Waste
Half a million tonnes is a huge amount and there is still more municipal waste produced in Hertfordshire than ten years ago. However, waste has declined in the past two years as a result of the public's waste minimisation efforts as well as the slow down in the global economy.
The Disposal Of Waste
Hertfordshire households produce more waste than can physically be disposed of within the County boundaries. The result is that an increasing amount of your waste has to be taken out of the County for disposal; this is not a sustainable option.
You can find out more about how Hertfordshire's waste may be managed in future at the HertsDirect website.
The Cost of Waste Disposal
These growing pressures, together with the annual rise of the landfill tax and introduction of tough new legislation, are rapidly increasing the cost of disposing of your waste.
Currently Hertfordshire's district councils pay around £27 million a year for waste collection and the County Council pays just over £27 million a year for the disposal of waste. Every pound spent on waste is money that could be better spent on other council services such as education and social services.
Although less waste is produced than three years ago the costs of collection and disposal continue to increase.
To find out what we are planning to do about it, read our Joint Waste Strategy.