Reviewing plans for Hertfordshire's waste

Hertfordshire is projected to be producing 4.4 million tonnes of waste a year by 2033 – an increase of almost 1m tonnes a year from current levels.

The county already produces more waste than it can manage locally, and with the county’s population expected to rise by up to 175,000 by 2031, and up to 100,000 new homes and 100,000 new jobs being created over the same period, it will need significantly more capacity to recycle, recover and dispose of waste in the future.

As the Waste Planning Authority for Hertfordshire, the county council needs to set out strategic policies for managing the county’s waste, and identify the types of facilities needed.

These could include recycling centres, transfer stations, composting facilities or disposal facilities.

Although the new plan will not identify particular sites for new facilities, it will set out the broad areas where growth is expected in the county, and where new facilities are likely to be needed. It will also set out design principles for facilities.

Derrick Ashley, cabinet member for growth, infrastructure, planning and the economy, said: “We produce millions of tonnes of waste in Hertfordshire every year, most of which is commercial and industrial waste, and we’re going to need more facilities to help us manage all this waste responsibly.

"We’re expecting significant growth in the county over the next 15 years and we need to plan now to make sure we have the infrastructure in place to make sure that we benefit from that.”

The draft Waste Local Plan will - if it is supported by a meeting of the county council - be put out for public consultation for 10 weeks from January 11.

The current Waste Local Plan was adopted in 2014 and now needs to be reviewed following a number of changes to the planning system and national policies in the intervening years.