Eco NW - State of the region
Resource flows and impacts of production and consumption in the NW
Waste Management
The waste issue is put in perspective by the resource flow approach. Primary industries such as agriculture, fishing, forestry and mining bring 5.3 tonnes per person per year into the NW economy. Imports from overseas bring another 2.2 tonnes per person, and half of that tonnage is then exported. All these materials are then circulated around in the economy from one sector to another, until they reach the point of sale or 'final demand'. Households purchase directly nearly 1.9 tonnes per person of food and other products, but a third of this is then put straight out into waste. Overall, waste accounts for over half the material flow at 4.2 tonnes per person.
The average person in the NW produced 568kg of household waste in 2003-4 - 10% more than the UK average. Only 14% of this waste was recycled, the third lowest of any region.
The Environment Agency 2003 survey showed that waste from commercial and industrial sectors in the North West totalled 8.3 million tonnes in 2003 - 4.5 million tonnes of industrial waste and 3.8 million tonnes of commercial waste.
The sectors which produced the most waste in 2003 were 'Retail & Wholesale' and 'Other Services' (financial services, travel & estate agents etc), both producing around 1.7 million tonnes each. In 1998/99 the biggest producing sectors were 'Chemicals and Minerals' (1.7 million tonnes) and 'Other Services' (1.9 million tonnes). Construction & demolition waste accounted for nearly half the total tonnage.
