Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council are consulting on a Draft Waste Local Plan, which will be used to guide future provision of waste across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Significant changes have taken place in the way people regard and manage the things that are no longer needed. Today, waste is no longer something, which is buried in the ground. It is a resource, which can be re-used, recycled or converted to energy. The need to ensure waste is planned for in a sustainable way and plays a part in addressing climate change is becoming ever more important.

Local authorities responsible for planning policy have a legal responsibility to prepare a plan on how they will manage future waste over a ten to 15-year period. Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council, which are responsible for planning policies across the whole Nottinghamshire area, are working together to prepare a new Joint Waste Local Plan. The plan will provide a strategy for waste management in the area until 2038 and aims to ensure sufficient capacity to meet future needs. It will also include planning policies, against which proposals for new waste facilities will be assessed.

The first stage of the plan was completed in 2020, when an informal consultation on what potential future issues might arise and possible ways to help solve them took place. A draft plan was then written, using the information from that consultation and further evidence collected on the future need for recycling and waste sites.

Councillor Neil Clarke, chairman of the Transport and Environment Committee, at Nottinghamshire County Council, said that hearing the views of residents, stakeholders and other interested parties was vital for the future planning of waste disposal and how we can use it as a resource.

Councillor Clarke said: “In May 2021, Nottinghamshire County Council declared a climate emergency where we clearly stated our ambition to become carbon neutral in all our activities by 2030.

“Dealing with waste in a sustainable way over the coming decades is foremost in our future planning and thinking, so I’m looking forward to hearing the innovative views of people from across the county on how we can re-use, recycle or convert waste to energy. The subsequent Waste Plan will see us through well into the 2030s so it’s an important document in helping us achieve our Net Zero Carbon goals.”

Councillor Linda Woodings, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Heritage at Nottingham City Council said: “Ensuring waste is planned for in a sustainable way is really essential if Nottingham wants to achieve its target to be Carbon Neutral by 2028.

“The draft Waste Local Plan includes some challenging targets around minimising waste production, recycling, heat capture from waste, and seeks to minimise landfill. When adopted, the plan will also help shape and form the planning policies required to assess future waste development proposals. 

“Waste affects everyone, including residents, businesses and developers, so we would like to hear all views on the plan now it is open for consultation.” 

People can find out more information and have their say on the Draft Joint Waste Local Plan by visiting https://nottinghamshire.oc2.uk/until the consultation closes on 4 April 2022.