A new approach to waste

The new Newcastle Waste Strategy was approved by Cabinet on 18 March 2019.

The strategy sets out the council’s vision, ambitions and desired outcomes for waste arising in and collected by the city; it provides high level strategic objectives under a range of themes and an Action Plan for the next five years. 

The strategy builds on the work carried of the independent Newcastle Waste Commission and responds to the recommendations contained in their final report, ‘No time to waste’.   
 
The strategy acknowledges that there is a renewed and widespread passion for environmental issues. 

We live in a world that is producing more and more waste, and the ambition for Newcastle is that we can become a model of excellence. We want to inspire individuals and organisation to take responsibility for changing their behaviour relating to waste and to be proud of their communities and the environment we live in.   
 
We have just launched Your city, your home, a thought-provoking campaign designed to stop people dropping litter, aiming to reduce the 7,000 tonnes of litter and fly-tipped material people discarded in the city last year. It cost the council £2.2m to pick up and dispose of - enough to plant 5,000 trees, fill 40,000 pot holes or support 100 looked after children in foster care placements. This is an example of one of the innovative actions that will make a difference to the city. 
 
Newcastle last year produced 141,000 tonnes of waste from eight million collections to 132,500 homes. As a vibrant city, the number of households is going to increase further, and we need to be able to manage any additional waste in a sustainable way. Taking a transformational approach to waste management is and will continue to be critical to ensuring the city operates within sustainable and financial limits.   
 
We want Newcastle to produce less rubbish. Any waste that is then produced should not be a problem to disposed of, but valued as a resource, a resource that can be reused, recycled or utilised in energy recovery or manufacturing.