Environment and roads

Dealing with Hertfordshire's household waste

Why we have to change

Last year, residents in Hertfordshire produced around 600,000 tonnes of household waste. We currently send 60% of this waste to landfill sites, mostly outside Hertfordshire.

But we can’t continue to do this. Suitable landfill space is running out, it is harmful to the environment and it is costing more and more money to dispose of waste in this way.

The Government and European Union are putting increasing pressure on local authorities to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill and significant financial penalties will be incurred unless alternative, local solutions are found.

Our first priority is to tackle the amount of waste we produce and to reuse and recycle as much as possible. But we also need to look for alternative waste disposal and treatment facilities - otherwise we could face millions of pounds in extra costs, which would have a big impact on council tax bills and services.