Initial Consultation document

Glossary

Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs): Areas designated by local authorities because they are not likely to achieve national air quality objectives by the relevant deadlines.

Aftercare: The treatment of land for a period (usually five years) following restoration to bring the land to the required standard so that it is fit for its agreed after-use.

Afteruse: the use (usually for agriculture, forestry or amenity) that land is put to once restored following mineral working, or temporary waste management operations such as landfill.

Aggregates: Materials such as sand and gravel and crushed rock, used in the construction industry for purposes such as concrete, mortar or roadstone.

Agricultural waste: Waste that is specifically generated by agricultural activities. It includes manure and other wastes from farms, poultry houses and slaughter houses; harvest waste, and pesticides.

Amenity: a positive element or elements that contribute to the overall character or enjoyment of an area.

Anaerobic Digestion: Anaerobic digestion is the biological treatment of biodegradable organic waste in the absence of oxygen, utilising microbial activity to break down the waste in a controlled environment. Anaerobic digestion results in the generation of:

• Biogas, which is rich in methane and can be used to generate heat and/or electricity;
• Fibre, (or digestate) which is nutrient rich and can potentially be used as a soil conditioner; and
• Liquor, which can potentially be used as a liquid fertiliser.

• Ancient Woodland: An area of woodland which has had a continuous history of tree cover since at least 1600.

Apportionment: The quantity of land-won aggregates to be planned for in Norfolk, taking into account the Local Aggregate Assessment, the advice of the East of England Aggregate Working Party and published National and Sub-National Guidelines on future provision of aggregates. Further information on planning for a steady and adequate supply of aggregates is contained in paragraph 145 of the National Planning Policy Framework and 'Guidance on the Managed Aggregate Supply System' (DCLG 2012).

Appropriate Assessment: Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora requires an Appropriate Assessment to be undertaken to assess the impacts of a land-use plan against the conservation objectives of a European Site and to ascertain whether it would adversely affect the integrity of that site.

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB): Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 for the purposes of preserving and enhancing their natural beauty.

Area of Search: areas where knowledge of mineral resources may be less certain but within which planning permission may be granted, particularly if there is a potential shortfall in supply. If it is not possible to designate Specific Sites, or Preferred Areas, the alternative way to plan for the steady and adequate supply of minerals is to designate Areas of Search.

Biodegradable waste: any waste that is capable of undergoing natural decomposition, such as food and garden waste, paper and cardboard.

Biodiversity: The variety of all life on earth (mammals, birds, fish, invertebrates, plants etc).

Borrow pit: A temporary mineral working to supply material for a specific construction project.

Brownfield land Also known as "previously-developed land". Land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land (although it should not be assumed that the whole of the curtilage should be developed) and any associated fixed surface infrastructure. This excludes: land that is or has been occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings; land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill purposes where provision for restoration has been made through development control procedures; land in built-up areas such as private residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments; and land that was previously-developed but where the remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape in the process of time.

Buffer: Buffers are areas of land within the allocation which would remain unworked for mineral extraction to mitigate potential impacts (for example, on amenity, landscape or ecology). Where a buffer is included in a site allocations policy or map it is 'indicative' and is intended only to illustrate where assessment at this stage has indicated that there may be impacts which, in principle, are likely to require buffers to mitigate them. The exact distances and coverage of any buffer, if required, would be determined following assessment of the detail of potential impacts as part of any future planning application.

Carstone: Carstone is a ferrunginous brown sandstone quarried in West Norfolk. It is used primarily for construction fill. When the iron content is high it can meet higher specifications. Traditionally in West Norfolk it was used as a building material.

Climate change: Changes in climate resulting from an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (e.g. emissions from transport and industry), global changes to land surface, such as from deforestation, and an increase in atmospheric concentrations of aerosols.

Composting: A process where organic wastes (such as garden and kitchen waste) are broken down aerobically (in the presence of air) to create a product that can be applied to land to improve soil structure and enrich the nutrient content of the soil.

Conservation Area: An area designated by the Local Planning Authority under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as possessing special architectural or historical interest.

Conventional hydrocarbons: Hydrocarbon extraction covers both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons. Conventional hydrocarbons are oil and gas where the reservoir is sandstone or limestone. Also see unconventional hydrocarbons.

Construction, Demolition and Excavation waste (CD&E): CD&E waste can be in the form of certain types of: Construction wastes (e.g. surplus supplies of materials specifically required for a single project as well as waste originating from site preparation), Demolition wastes (e.g. used material resulting from demolition activities); or Excavation wastes (e.g. usually consisting of soils and stones which cannot be used beneficially, such as from tunnelling operations, the soil component may not be inert).

Commercial and industrial waste (C&I): Waste from shops, industrial and business premises.

County Wildlife Site: A site of local importance for wildlife. Outside SSSIs, County Wildlife Sites are the best sites for wildlife in Norfolk. Sites are designated using stringent criteria, by a committee composed of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Norfolk County Council, Natural England, the Norfolk Biological Records Centre, and the Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership.

Cumulative Impact: The combined impacts of a number of developments on the environment, amenity, health, traffic etc.

Development Management: The process through which the Council determines whether a proposal for development should be granted planning permission, taking into account the development plan and any other material considerations.

Development Plan: Statutory documents described in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) that set out the planning policies and proposals for the development and use of land. Decisions on planning applications must conform to the Development Plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Development Plan Documents: A term brought in by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. They set out spatial planning policies and proposals for an area. Development Plan Documents are also referred to as Local Plans.

Development Framework: Collective term for the Development Plan Documents, the Local Development Scheme, the Statement of Community Involvement, Annual Monitoring Report, and any supplementary planning documents.

Disposal: Waste disposal operations include: deposit into or onto land (e.g. landfill), incineration, permanent storage, treatment operations where the final compound or mixture will be disposed of.

Ecological network: Areas of semi-natural habitat that are linked by corridors or "stepping stones", and thus enable wildlife to move through the wider landscape.

Energy from Waste (EfW): Utilising the embodied energy of waste materials to generate electricity and heat through direct combustion or indirect combustion of biogas.

Energy recovery: The generation of heat and power from the thermal treatment of waste, the production of fuels from other forms of treatment and the combustion of landfill gas and gas from anaerobic digestion to create electricity.

Examination: The Local Plan will be subject to an independent examination by an independent planning inspector. The recommendations in the Inspectors report will inform the final adopted version, but are no longer legally-binding.

Gasification: A process whereby carbon based wastes are heated in the presence of air or steam to produce fuel-rich gases.

Geodiversity: The variety of rocks, minerals, fossils, soils and landforms, together with the natural processes which shape the landscape.

Geomorphology: The study of landforms and the formative processes that shape the physical landscape.

Green Infrastructure: A network of multi-functional green space, urban and rural, which is capable of delivering a wide range of environmental and quality of life benefits for local communities.

Greenhouse gas: Gases such as carbon dioxide and methane which, when their atmospheric concentrations exceed certain levels, can contribute to climate changes buy forming a barrier in the earth's atmosphere that traps the sun's heat.

Gross Value Added (GVA): the value generated by any business or organisation that produces goods or services. The calculation for GVA is: value of goods and services produced, minus the costs of production in terms of raw materials and other direct costs. It does not take into account the effects of taxation or subsidies. This can be measured across a geographical area, industry or sector, and can used as a measure of productivity and growth.

Groundwater Source Protection Zones: The Environment Agency divides groundwater source catchments into four zones. These are based on the number of days taken by any pollutant to flow to the borehole. Source Protection Zone 1 is defined as a zone within which any contamination would reach the borehole within 50 days. This applies to groundwater at and below the water table. This zone also has a minimum 50 metre protection radius around the borehole. These zones are designed to provide control over activities taking place near boreholes which could result in contamination reaching the public water supply.

Groundwater: Water within soil, sediments or rocks below the ground surface. Water contained within underground strata is referred to as an aquifer.

Habitats Regulations Assessment (Appropriate Assessment): Directive 92/43/EEC (the Habitats Directive) on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora requires an Appropriate Assessment to be undertaken to assess the impacts of a land-use plan against the conservation objectives of a European Site and to ascertain whether it would adversely affect the integrity of that site.

Hazardous waste: As defined by The List of Wastes Regulations 2005, eg asbestos, acids, oils, petroleum products, paint, mercury, solvents, un-depolluted end-of-life vehicles. It is waste that poses potential threats to public health or the environment (when improperly treated, stored, transported or disposed). This can be due to the quantity, concentration or characteristics of the waste. This type of waste includes elements of healthcare waste.

Heritage asset: Include World Heritage Sites, Scheduled Monuments, Listed Buildings, Protected Wreck Sites, Registered Parks and Gardens, Registered Battlefields or Conservation Areas designated under the relevant legislation. Heritage assets can also be undesignated.

Historic Environment: All aspects of the environment resulting from the interaction between people and places through time, including all surviving physical remains of past human activity, whether visible, buried or submerged, and landscaped and planted or managed flora

Historic Parks and Gardens: Sites included in the Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England, compiled by Historic England via the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953. The main purpose of this register is to help ensure that the features and qualities which make the landscapes registered to be of national importance are safeguarded during ongoing management or if any change is being considered which could affect them.

Hoggin: An aggregate material consisting of an unprocessed mix of sand, gravel and clay, suitable for general fill purposes.

Household waste Household waste includes all mixed waste that is collected from households; all materials taken to local bring banks or collected at the doorstep or kerbside for recycling and composting; all waste (apart from rubble) that is taken to the County Council operated Recycling Centres; litter and street sweepings.

Household waste recycling centres: Provided by Waste Disposal Authorities as places where the public can deliver their household waste for recycling or disposal. These sites usually incorporate skips, collection areas for waste refrigeration and metal appliances, and recycling banks. Some sites have containers for materials such as waste batteries, paint, oil and wood. These facilities do not generally accept trade waste.

Incineration plant: Any stationary or mobile technical unit and equipment dedicated to the thermal treatment of wastes with or without recovery of the combustion heat generated. This includes the incineration by oxidation of waste as well as other thermal treatment processes such as pyrolysis, gasification or plasma processes in so far as the substances resulting from the treatment are subsequently incinerated.

Inert waste: Waste that does not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological, transformations; does not dissolve, burn or otherwise physically or chemically react, biodegrade or adversely affect other matter with which it comes into contact in a way likely to give rise to environmental pollution or harm to human health; and, in particular, does not endanger the quality of any surface water or groundwater.

Inert waste recycling: Includes the recycling of secondary aggregates at centralised processing facilities or where the material arises. Material is delivered by skip or bulk vehicle for crushing, screening and grading for re-use. Unusable residues may be used in landfill engineering. Hardstanding is required for stockpiles of material, and for locating crushing, screening and grading machinery. Some elements of the operation and storage may be enclosed, but it is mostly undertaken in the open air.

In-Vessel Composting: The aerobic decomposition of shredded and mixed organic waste within an enclosed container, where the control systems for material degradation are fully automated. Moisture, temperature and odour can be regulated, and a stable compost can be produced much more quickly than outdoor windrow composting.

Initial Consultation: A stage of the Local Plan preparation process where community engagement is sought from individuals and organisations to inform the identification of key issues and the potential options for addressing them.

Landbank: A stock of mineral reserves with planning permission for their extraction.

Landfill: The term landfill relates to waste disposal mainly below ground level whereas landraise, also generically referred to as landfill, refers to waste disposal mainly above pre-existing ground levels. Modern landfill practice requires a significant degree of engineering in order to contain the waste, control emissions and minimise potential environmental effects. The primary by-products of landfilling, where biodegradable materials are disposed of, are landfill gas and leachate (a liquor resulting from water passing through the waste mass) and much landfill engineering is geared towards dealing with these substances. As such, landfill sites require containment lining systems and abstraction systems for both landfill gas and leachate.

Landfill gas: A by-product from the decomposition of biodegradable wastes. The gas is a mixture of up to 65% methane and 35% carbon dioxide plus trace gases and vapours.

Landscape character: A distinct and consistent pattern of elements in the landscape that makes one landscape different to another.

Leachate: A liquor resulting from water passing through the waste mass and therefore containing contaminants.

Listed building: A building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance using provisions under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. A listed building may not be demolished, extended or altered without special permission being granted by the Local Planning Authority. The Local Planning Authority must also consider if development nearby could cause adverse impacts to the listed building, and whether mitigation could address these impacts.

Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW): Waste collected from households and some business premises by local authorities, including waste from household waste recycling centres, public parks and public bins.

Local Development Scheme: Describes the Local Development Documents which the authority intends to prepare and the timetable for their preparation.

Local Plan: The plan for the future development of the local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended). Current core strategies or other planning policies, which under the regulations would be considered to be development plan documents, form part of the Local Plan. The term includes old policies which have been saved under the 2004 Act.

Local Planning Authority: An organisation with statutory planning powers, ie the relevant County, District, Borough or Unitary Council.

Local Transport Plan: A document produced by Local Highway Authorities that describes its transport policies and its broad implementation programme.

Materials Recovery Facility: A specialised building for separating, processing and storing recyclable materials from waste collected either separately or mixed.

Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT): A form of waste processing facility that combines a sorting facility (the 'mechanical' element) with a form of biological treatment such as composting or anaerobic digestion.

Methane: A colourless, odourless, flammable gas, formed during the decomposition of biodegradable waste.

Mineral Consultation Area: An area identified in order to ensure consultation between the relevant LPA and the Mineral Planning Authority before certain non-mineral planning applications made within the area are determined.

Mineral Safeguarding Area: An area defined by the Mineral Planning Authority to identify a mineral resource which would be subject to safeguarding to prevent unnecessary sterilisation by non-mineral developments; used in conjunction with Mineral Consultation Area.

Mineral Planning Authority: An organisation with statutory planning powers relating to minerals development, in most areas the County or Unitary Council.

Mitigation: Measures used to reduce, avoid or remedy any adverse impacts caused by development.

Mixed waste processing: Operations, primarily of a mechanical and/or biological nature, to process unsorted 'black bag' waste; residual household waste following doorstep separation of recyclables/green waste; or residual waste following centralised separation of recyclables / organics. The nature of mixed waste processing operations is dictated by the needs of downstream waste management practices. For example, in the case of a system which includes thermal treatment, refuse derived fuel (RDF) can be produced from mixed waste. Alternatively organic fractions can be separated for biological treatment. Various physical separation and waste reduction techniques can be used, sometimes in combination. Such processes include: trommel screen (typically a tilted rotating drum used to screen waste according to size and density), shredders, RDF plant and pelletisers; hand picking stations.; biological stabilisation; ball mills; other mechanical reduction techniques (crushing, pulverising etc.) The term 'mechanical biological treatment' (MBT) describes a hybrid process combining mechanical and biological techniques to sort and separate mixed household waste. Mixed waste processing can also be undertaken within an integrated facility which may also include composting and thermal treatment.

Monitoring Report: Records progress in implementing the Local Development Scheme and the performance of policies against targets in the Local Plan. Indicates what action an authority needs to take if it is not on track or policies need to be revised/ replaced.

Municipal Waste: Waste arising from households as well as other waste (such as commercial and industrial waste) which because of its nature or composition is similar to waste from households.

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF): This document sets out the Government's planning policies for England and was published on 27 March 2012. The NPPF must be taken into account in the preparation of Local and neighbourhood Plans, and is a material consideration in planning decisions. It states that in order to be considered sound a Local Plan should be consistent with national planning policy.

National Planning Practice Guidance (PPG): A web-based resource published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on 6 March 2014 and updated as needed. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/planning-practice-guidance

Non-hazardous waste: All non-hazardous waste as defined by The List of Wastes Regulations 2005. Included are for example municipal (household), commercial and industrial wastes.

Permitted reserves: Saleable minerals in the ground with planning permission for extraction. Usually expressed in million tonnes.

Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence Issued by Government (Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy), this licence gives the right to search for, and hydrocarbons, but does not give any exemption from other legal/regulatory requirements such as: any need to gain access rights from landowners, health and safety regulations, or planning permission from relevant local authorities.

Planning Conditions: Conditions attached to a planning permission for the purpose of regulating and controlling the development.

Preferred Areas: If it is not possible to designate Specific Sites, the next way to plan for a steady and adequate supply of minerals is to designate preferred areas, which are areas of known resources where planning permission might reasonably be anticipated. Such areas may also include essential operations associated with mineral extraction.

Preferred options: A stage of the Local Plan preparation process where the authority's preferred options for addressing key issues are published for a six week consultation period. This stage was deleted in the revision to PPS12, published in 2008.

Primary aggregates: Naturally occurring sand, gravel and crushed rock used for construction purposes.

Principal Aquifers: These are layers of rock or drift deposits that have high intergranular and/or fracture permeability - meaning they usually provide a high level of water storage. They may support water supply and/or river base flow on a strategic scale. In most cases, principal aquifers are aquifers previously designated as major aquifer.

Processing of Recyclables: Processing of recyclables will include all those operations that are designed to accept source-separated recyclate for processing and bulking-up prior to transport to downstream specialist re-processors. The recyclate is likely to originate from kerbside collection of materials that have been separated by individual householders and businesses, and also material from centralised recycling facilities (bottle banks, CA sites etc).

Pyrolysis: During pyrolysis organic waste is heated in the absence of air to produce a mixture of gaseous and liquid fuels and a solid inert residue (mainly carbon). Pyrolysis generally requires a consistent waste stream to produce a usable fuel product.

Radioactive waste: Radioactive wastes contain radioactive elements. Radioactive waste is categorised into nuclear and non-nuclear wastes. Nuclear wastes are from the nuclear power industry, while 'non-nuclear' wastes are generally from medical facilities and educational establishments. The majority of radioactive waste is 'low level waste' meaning that it has low levels of radioactivity.

Ramsar Site: A Site of Special Scientific Interest of international importance as waterfowl habitat designated under the Ramsar International Convention on Wetlands (1971).

Recovery: Includes recycling and composting operations as well as anaerobic digestion, thermal treatment operations which produce energy from waste (including fuel, heat and power) and some backfilling operations.

Recycled aggregates: Aggregates produced from recycled construction waste such as crushed concrete, planings from road surfacing etc.

Recycling: The process by which materials are collected and used as 'raw' materials for new products.

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF): consists ofresidual waste that complies with the specifications in a written contract between the producer of the RDF and a permitted end-user for the thermal treatment of the waste in an energy from waste facility or a facility undertaking co-incineration such as cement and lime kilns. The written contract must include the end-user's technical specifications relating as a minimum to the calorific value, the moisture content, the form and quantity of the RDF.

Renewable energy: Renewable energy is energy derived from resources that are regenerative (e.g. biomass) or for all practical purposes cannot be depleted (e.g. solar or wind power).

Residual waste: The elements of the waste streams that remain following recovery, recycling or composting operations.

Restoration: Operations designed to return an area to an acceptable environmental state, whether for the resumption of the former land use or for a new use following mineral working or waste disposal. Involves the reinstatement of land by contouring, the spreading of soils or soil making materials etc.

Route hierarchy: Norfolk County Council's route hierarchy categorises roads by use, or desired use, influencing signage, improvement programmes, and maintenance priorities. At the top of the hierarchy are the:

• Principal Roads (generally A roads); followed by
• Distributor Roads (generally B roads); followed by
• Local Access
• HGV (heavy goods vehicle) access
• Tourist accesses (generally class C roads)
• Other roads (normally unclassified or C roads)

Safeguarding: Protecting existing, permitted and allocated sites that have potential for relevant development (waste and minerals) from other incompatible development.

Scheduled Monuments: Nationally important monuments and archaeological areas protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act

Screening: Screening may take a number of forms, which may include bunds, or planting, or a combination of these and may in some circumstances incorporate a standoff to ensure that the screening is not itself intrusive. Where screening is included in a site allocations policy or map it is 'indicative' and is intended only to illustrate where assessment at this stage has indicated that there may be impacts (for example on amenity or landscape) which, in principle, could require some form of screening to mitigate them. The form of screening which would be appropriate, if required, along with the distances and coverage of any screening would be determined following assessment of the detail of potential impacts, as part of any future planning application

Secondary aggregates: aggregates obtained as a by-product of other quarrying and mining operations, or aggregates obtained as a by-product of other industrial processes, such as coal fired power station ash, incinerator ash and spent foundry sand.

Secondary Aquifers: These include a wide range of rock layers or drift deposits with an equally wide range of water permeability and storage. Secondary aquifers are subdivided into two types:

Secondary A - permeable layers capable of supporting water supplies at a local rather than strategic scale, and in some cases forming an important source of base flow to rivers. These are generally aquifers formerly classified as minor aquifers;

Secondary B - predominantly lower permeability layers which may store and yield limited amounts of groundwater due to localised features such as fissures, thin permeable horizons and weathering. These are generally the water-bearing parts of the former non-aquifers.

Secondary Undifferentiated - has been assigned in cases where it has not been possible to attribute either category A or B to a rock type. In most cases, this means that the layer in question has previously been designated as both minor and non-aquifer in different locations due to the variable characteristics of the rock type.

Setting of a heritage asset: The surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced. Its extent is not fixed and may change as the asset and its surroundings evolve. Elements of a setting may make a positive or negative contribution to the significance of an asset, may affect the ability to appreciate that significance or may be neutral.

Specific Sites (for mineral extraction): where viable resources are known to exist, landowners are supportive of minerals development and the proposal is likely to be acceptable in planning terms. Such sites may also include essential operations associated with mineral extraction. This is the preferred way to plan for the steady and adequate supply of minerals as it provides the necessary certainty on when and where development may take place.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs): Sites notified and protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 on account of their flora, fauna, geological or physiographical features.

Spatial planning: Concerned with the physical aspects of places, but not restricted to land use decisions controlled through the planning process. Includes physical aspects about how a place functions and develops.

Special Area of Conservation: An SSSI of international importance designated under the EC Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Special Protection Area: An SSSI of international importance designated under the EC Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.

Statement of Community Involvement: A document that sets out a Local Planning Authority's intended consultation strategy for different elements of the planning process. This is a requirement brought in by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

Strategic Environmental Assessment: A procedure (set out in the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004) which requires the formal environmental assessment of certain plans and programmes which are likely to have significant effects on the environment.

Submission: A stage of the Local Plan preparation process where the document is 'submitted' to the Secretary of State for independent examination by a planning inspector.

Surface water All lakes, rivers, streams, springs, ponds, impounding reservoirs, wetlands, marshes, water sources, drainage systems on the Earth's surface.

Sustainability Appraisal: An evaluation process for assessing the environmental, social, economic and other sustainability effects of plans and programmes. This is a statutory requirement.

Sustainable development: Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Thermal treatment: Can include incineration, gasification and pyrolysis. Techniques used include various moving grate systems and fluidised bed processes.

Transfer: The deposition and separation or bulking up of waste before it is removed for recovery or disposal.

Transport assessment: This is a process which considers total travel demand; patterns of public transport in the area; how development impacts upon them; and if required how infrastructure or services could be improved to address the impacts (of a development).

Transport statement: Where transport issues are such that a full Transport Assessment is not required, a Transport Statement may be acceptable

Treatment: Involves the physical, chemical or biological processing of waste to reduce their volume, for segregation to reduce the harmfulness of the waste.

Unconventional hydrocarbons Hydrocarbon extraction covers both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons. Unconventional hydrocarbons refers to oil and gas which comes from sources such as shale or coal seams which act as the reservoirs. Also see conventional hydrocarbons.

Waste arisings: The amount of waste generated in any given locality over a given period of time.

Waste Collection Authority: A local authority with a statutory responsibility to provide a waste collection service to each household in its area, and on request, to local businesses; in Norfolk the relevant district, borough or city council is the WCA.

Waste Disposal Authority: A local authority that is legally responsible for the safe disposal of municipal waste collected by the WCAs and the provision of Household Waste and Recycling Sites; in Norfolk the County Council is the WDA.

Waste management: The means of dealing with waste, including waste disposal, transfer, processing, recovery/recycling operations, incineration and other technologies.

Waste Planning Authority: An organisation with statutory planning powers relating to waste management development, in most areas the County or Unitary Council.

Waste transfer: Waste transfer is the process by which waste is taken from waste producers for treatment, recycling and/or disposal. Then, to minimise the cost of transport and to reduce environmental impacts, transfer stations are used to sort waste and to transfer it to larger vehicles for onward transport. The waste is usually sorted into wastes that can be recycled (such as metal, wood, soil and rubble) and the remaining waste that will be landfilled.

Wastewater (sewage): Comprises liquid and solid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry and agricultural activities, which is then carried to Water Recycling Centre via a network of foul sewers.

Windrow Composting: The aerobic decomposition of shredded and mixed organic waste using open linear heaps known as 'windrows', which are approximately three metres high and four to six metres across. The process involves mechanical turning of the waste until the desired temperature and residence times are achieved to enable effective degradation. This results in a bulk-reduced, stabilised residue known as compost. Windrow composting can take place outdoors or within a large building and the process takes around three months.

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