Research and analysis

Review of environmental and health effects of waste management: Municipal solid waste and similar wastes

An assessment of the external costs and benefits to health and the environment of waste management options valued in monetary terms.

Documents

Review of Environmental and Health Effects of Waste Management: Municipal Solid Waste and Similar Wastes

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Details

The Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, in its report “Waste not, Want not”, recommended that an independent body should bring together the literature and evidence on the relative health and environmental effects of all the different waste management options; relative both to each other and to other activities affecting health and the environment. The Government made a commitment in the pre-budget report 2002 to commission a review.

This has been a two stage process. The first stage has been an assessment of the scientific evidence of the physical health and environmental effects of options to manage municipal solid waste and similar wastes, and a report was published in May 2004.

An economic study completes the second stage. This report presents the findings of a study conducted by Enviros Consulting in conjunction with Economics for the Environment Consultancy (EFTEC) to provide an assessment of the external costs and benefits to health and the environment of waste management options valued in monetary terms.

Further information

Published 26 March 2011