Norfolk Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2023-2038 (web version)

Waste Management Specific Policies

National Planning Policy for Waste

W0.1 National Planning Policy for Waste requires that Waste Planning Authorities should identify sufficient opportunities to meet the identified needs for their area for the management of waste streams.

W0.2 A significant element of the planning policy context for waste is the Waste Hierarchy. The intention is that, in making decisions about waste management, greater weight should be attributed to those waste management methods that are at the top of the hierarchy. In order of preference the waste hierarchy is:

W0.3 In terms of planning this has meant a change from planning for new temporary landfill sites in former quarries and instead the emphasis is now on permanent fixed facilities in employment areas or other suitable sites. This Plan is mainly concerned with recycling, other recovery and disposal because these are the stages of the waste hierarchy where waste management facilities are required.

W0.4 The other key element of National Planning Policy for Waste is the principal of self-sufficiency in waste management capacity. This is the concept of providing enough waste management capacity to handle the forecast amount of waste arising in Norfolk. Therefore, the County Council aims to plan for sufficient capacity to manage an amount of waste equal to that arising in Norfolk, whilst acknowledging that waste is transported between different areas of the Country. It is recognised that there may be certain waste streams for which the complexity of the waste management process, and/or the volumes of waste in each area are so low that it would be unviable for a full range of waste management facilities to exist in every area. This is recognised in the National Planning Practice Guidance for Waste (Paragraph: 007 Reference ID: 28-007-20141016).

W0.5 Discussions with other Waste Planning Authorities take place as part of the Duty to Cooperate, to ensure adequate capacity exist both inside and outside Norfolk to manage such waste.

Waste types

W0.6 Waste is classified into different types depending on the nature and source of the material; these are referred to as waste streams. The different waste streams that arise within Norfolk are defined in the glossary and are:

• Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW)
• Commercial and Industrial waste (C&I)
• Construction, Demolition and Excavation waste (CD&E)
• Hazardous waste
• Radioactive waste
• Wastewater (sewage)
• Agricultural waste

Waste reduction and prevention

W0.7 The Norfolk Waste Partnership is an organisation which promotes waste reduction and prevention, members include all eight local authorities in Norfolk. The partnership has four strategic objectives:

• Reduce the amount of waste generated per household
• Increase the availability of waste reduction, reuse, repair and recycling activities
• Ensure residents and businesses understand the importance of waste as a resource and the range of opportunities for waste reduction, repair, reuse and recycling
• Reduce the overall system cost of dealing with Norfolk's household waste.

W0.8 The targets set out in the Waste Management Plan for England (2021) and in 'Our waste, our resources: a strategy for England' (2018)are key drivers for the partnership. These documents include targets for at least 65% of municipal waste by weight to be recycled by 2035, with no more than 10% ending up in landfill.

W0.9 The recycling rate (which also includes composting and reuse) for Norfolk's household waste in 2022/23 was 44.2% compared to a household waste recycling rate for England of 41.7%. However, there are disparities between individual authority's recycling rates, with the highest recycling rate in Norfolk being 50.3%and the lowest 30.4%. The rates are significantly affected by the quantity of garden waste collected. The household waste recycling rate in Norfolk varied between 42.1% and 44.4% over the five-year period from 2018/19 to 2022/23. The household waste recycling rate for England varied between 41.7% and 44.1% over the same five-year period.

W0.10 The recycling rate (which also includes composting and reuse) for Norfolk's Local Authority Collected municipal waste was 42.7% in 2022/23, whilst the rate for England was 40.7%. The municipal waste recycling rate in Norfolk varied from between 41.1% and 44.45% over the five-year period from 2018/19 and 2022/23. The municipal waste recycling rate for England varied between 43.2% and 40.7% over the same five-year period.

W0.11 Initiatives to reduce waste and improve the recycling rate are largely outside the scope of this Plan, these being aligned with the aims of the Waste Collection and Waste Disposal Authorities through their membership of the Norfolk Waste Partnership. The Plan will provide an approach that ensures suitable areas for sustainable waste management facilities are identified and that there is a flexible approach to waste technologies so that innovation within the market is encouraged, while still providing appropriate safeguards.

Existing Waste Management Capacity

W0.12 Norfolk currently has a wide range of waste management facilities, which manage both waste arising within Norfolk and some types of waste arising in other Waste Planning Authority areas. These facilities include composting, recycling, household waste recycling centres, anaerobic digestion, transfer stations and treatment facilities. Assessment of the maximum recorded throughputs for a range of waste management sites in Norfolk has indicated that approximately 3.755 million tonnes of capacity per annum exists for the treatment and processing of waste.

W0.13 Waste management was previously dominated by landfill as a final destination for residual waste, but there has been a significant shift away from this situation during the last ten years. Nationally, the majority of residual waste is now either consumed directly in Energy from Waste plants (usually incinerators) which produce electricity and/or heat as part of the process; or processed into Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), and then transported to Energy from Waste plants. The move away from landfill disposal has led to the closure of landfill sites. In Norfolk, in 2022, there is one operational non-hazardous landfill site and one mothballed site, which together still contain significant voidspace (further detail is provided in paragraph W1.10). While, Norfolk does not have any final treatment or recovery facilities for residual LACW or Commercial & Industrial waste, there are a number of facilities which provide treatment and processing (for example, into RDF) before it is transported to such facilities.

W0.14 Inert waste recycling takes place using mobile plant at construction sites as well as waste management facilities. It is recognised nationally that figures for inert waste recycling are less robust than for other waste streams, as there is no requirement for data to be provided for mobile plant operating under exemptions from the Environment Agency. Many inert waste recycling facilities operate at mineral workings as part of the wider commercial undertaking and the processed waste is sold as a recycled aggregate. Inert material unsuitable for reuse as a result of recycling is often used in the restoration of mineral workings.

W0.15 Norfolk contains a number of specialised facilities which deal with hazardous waste, mainly florescent tubes, waste electronic and electrical equipment and end-of-life vehicles. These sites receive waste from a wide area, including nationally for some sites, due to the nature of the waste stream. The facilities in Norfolk have the annual throughput capacity to manage a greater quantity of hazardous waste than arises within the county.

Existing waste movements

W0.16 The waste management industry is market driven, and as such operators seek to find the most efficient way of managing waste. The disposal of waste is expensive, and therefore separation of waste for which a recycling or reprocessing market exists is a widely accepted business model. As waste is separated into more and more homogenous streams, so the technology and processing complexity required generally increases, with final reprocessing often requiring a large scale industrial plant. As transport is a cost to business, a commercial operator will not move waste further than is necessary to make a given return. Waste from Norfolk travels nationally and internationally to appropriate waste management facilities, and Norfolk waste management sites receive some wastes from other areas nationally.

W1. Waste management capacity to be provided – STRATEGIC POLICY

W1.1 In order to plan for future waste arisings, national planning policy guidance states that growth projections should be produced. The Environment Agency's Waste Data Interrogator includes data on Household, Industrial and Commercial, Inert, and Hazardous waste streams. Growth projections have therefore been produced for the following waste streams:

W1.2 Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW): The data on arisings is considered to be robust and national guidance suggests that forecasts for population growth and household formation should be used as a basis for the waste arisings forecasts. Norfolk County Council has produced a LACW forecast for this Plan using a growth scenario where the current arisings of waste per household (approximately 1 tonne per year) are multiplied by the number of new homes planned for in the Local Planning Authorities' Local Plans. The Local Plans targets are generally based on the NPPF standard housing needs methodology, but some authorities are planning for a higher rate of housing delivery. Therefore, LAWC is forecast to grow in line with the expected growth in households.

W1.3 Commercial and Industrial waste: Forecasting future arisings for Commercial and Industrial waste is recognised as being less robust due to the lack of data on quantities of waste arising. However, the Environment Agency's Waste Data Interrogator contains data on the quantities of household, industrial and commercial (HIC) waste received at waste management facilities with an Environmental Permit. Therefore, the arisings of C&I waste have been calculated by taking the arisings of Household, Commercial and Industrial Waste in the Waste Data Interrogator and subtracting the quantity of Local Authority Collected Waste arisings from the total. Therefore, all remaining HIC waste has, for the purpose of this Plan, been considered to be C&I waste (although it is recognised that it will also include some Construction & Demolition and agricultural waste).

W1.4 Defra have carried out a number of surveys to estimate national C&I waste arisings. We have taken the business sectors used in the Defra Survey; and equated these to the GVA (Gross Value Added) growth forecasts for certain business sectors within the East of England Economic Forecasting Model (EEFM), to produce a growth forecast for C&I waste for the Plan period of an annual growth rate of 1.35%. Therefore C&I waste is forecast to grow in line with economic growth.

W1.5 Inert waste: National guidance advises that Waste Planning Authorities should start from the basis that net arisings of construction and demolition waste will remain constant over time as there is likely to be a reduced evidence base on which forward projections can be based for CD&E waste. Therefore, this plan has taken the inert waste arisings in Norfolk from the Environment Agency's Waste Data Interrogator 2022and assumed that the arisings will remain constant in each year of the Plan period. Any CD&E waste arisings that are not inert will already be included within the figures for Commercial and Industrial waste arisings and forecasts for this waste stream over the Plan period, which assume an increase in waste arisings.

W1.6 Hazardous waste: National guidance states that data returns for hazardous waste should be considered robust due to the need for facilities dealing with this waste to have an Environmental Permit and therefore submit waste returns to the Environment Agency. National guidance states that time series data should be used to forecast quantities of hazardous waste for the Plan period. Analysis of the Environment Agency's Waste Data Interrogator data shows that hazardous waste in Norfolk has been relatively stable in recent years, and it is considered that the hazardous waste arisings are therefore likely to remain stable through the Plan period.

Summary

W1.7 The waste forecasts do not take into account potential improvements in waste reduction and prevention. Analysis of the way the waste management industry in Norfolk operates indicates that existing sites are likely to modify the methods they use in order to adapt to such changes rather than large numbers of operators entering or leaving the market.

W1.8 Using the growth forecasts above, total waste arisings for Norfolk of LACW, C&I, inert and hazardous waste will increase from 3.216mt per annum in 2019/20 to approximately 3.651mt per annum in 2037/38.

W1.9 The targets in 'Our waste, our resources: a strategy for England' are thatat least 65% of municipal waste by weight to be recycled by 2035, with no more than 10% ending up in landfill. Using the forecast waste arisings for Norfolk's LACW this means that by 2038 at least 326,300 tonnes of LACW should be recycled per annum with no more than 50,200 tonnes being landfilled per annum.

W1.10 Norfolk's waste management capacity consists of:

• The maximum existing waste management capacity of operational sites in Norfolk, which is calculated to be 3.755 million tonnes per annum in 2022. This is based on the maximum recorded throughputs at sites between 2017 and 2022; and these may not represent absolute maximums, with many sites having higher maximum volumes set out in their Environmental Permits. This waste management capacity includes composting facilities, metal recycling, inert waste recycling, sewage sludge treatment, waste transfer and waste treatment facilities.
• Permitted void space within two non-hazardous landfill sites at Feltwell and Blackborough End of 3.529 million m³ at the end of 2022; 1.304 million m³ for non-hazardous waste and 2.225 million m³ for inert waste (further detail is provided in paragraph W12.3).
• Permitted void space at mineral extraction sites which will be restored using imported inert material was at least 3.5 million m³ at the end of 2022, with a further 0.97 million m³ permitted in 2023 and a further 2.225 million m³ available at Blackborough End landfill site as detailed above. In addition, a few of the mineral extraction sites proposed to be allocated through this local plan are proposed to be restored using inert waste materials, although the amounts needed have not been quantified for all sites. Together, these sites will meet the capacity requirements for the inert waste arisings that are unsuitable for recycling, over the Plan period.
• New planning permissions were granted during 2023 for facilities with a total throughput of over 0.2 million tonnes waste management capacity per annum.

Additional capacity in planning permissions granted in 2023 = >200,000 tpa

Permitted inert void space (landfill and quarry restoration) at 31/12/2022 = 5.725 million m³

Additional inert void capacity for quarry restoration granted in 2023 = 0.97 million m³

Permitted non-hazardous landfill void space at 31/12/2022 = 1.304 million m³ total

W1.11 Further detail on waste management capacity, movements, arisings and forecasts is provided in a separate Waste Management Capacity Assessment report.

W1.12 The following policy indicates the quantities of waste arisings that are expected over the Plan period to 2038. These figures are not limits but are indicative.

W1.13 Planning for net self-sufficiency in waste management recognises that there will be some cross-boundary movement of waste, as it is sometimes more sustainable to take waste to a facility out of Norfolk where the source of waste arisings is close to an administrative boundary. Therefore, the premise is to provide for the equivalent of waste forecast to arise within Norfolk, irrespective of where it actually arises. The data on existing waste management capacity shows that sufficient capacity already exists in Norfolk to accommodate the forecast growth in waste arising over the Plan period to 2038 and therefore it is not considered necessary to allocate any waste management sites in the Plan.

W2. Spatial Strategy for waste management facilities - STRATEGIC POLICY

W2.1 The Key Diagram and Policy WP2, set out the spatial strategy for the location of new waste management facilities within Norfolk. The following factors have been considered in the spatial strategy for waste management facilities:

1. in the past temporary sites for the disposal of waste by landfill followed minerals extraction, whereas waste is increasingly being managed at permanent facilities that are located with suitable highways access in proximity to centres of population and sources of waste;
2. the Norfolk Route Hierarchy provides a recognised hierarchy of roads. HGVs should take the shortest practicable route (avoiding inappropriate junctions and travel through settlements where possible) to access the strategic highway network at the earliest appropriate point;
3. significant areas of the County are within the statutory landscape designations of the Norfolk & Suffolk Broads, and the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty;
4. significant areas of the County are within the statutory ecological designations of Ramsar, Special Protection Areas, Special Areas of Conservation and Sites of Special Scientific Interest;
5. there are a significant number of both non-designated and designated heritage assets across Norfolk, including more than 430 Scheduled Monuments, more than 10,890 Listed Buildings, 53 Registered Parks and Gardens and 352 Conservation Areas.
6. the production of waste is likely to be concentrated in the county's larger settlements; these settlements will also be the locations of greatest housing and employment growth in Norfolk during the Plan period.

W2.2 The settlement hierarchy is defined by the Local Planning Authorities in Norfolk. The urban areas and main towns are as follows:

Urban Areas: Norwich, King's Lynn, Thetford, Attleborough, Great Yarmouth and Gorleston-on-Sea. The Norwich urban area consists of Norwich and the built-up parts of the urban fringe parishes of Colney, Costessey, Cringleford, Easton, Trowse, Thorpe St Andrew, Sprowston, Old Catton, Hellesdon, Drayton, Taverham and the remainder of the Growth Triangle.

Main Towns: Aylsham, Cromer, Dereham, Diss, Downham Market, Fakenham, Harleston, Hunstanton, Long Stratton, North Walsham, Swaffham, Watton, Wymondham

W2.3 The proximity principle for waste is set out in paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011. The proximity principle is within the context of the requirement for the UK to establish an integrated and adequate network of waste management installations for the disposal of waste and for the recovery of mixed municipal waste. The network must enable waste to be disposed of and mixed municipal waste to be recovered in one of the nearest appropriate installations by means of the most appropriate technologies. Locating waste management facilities in proximity to the locations of greatest housing and employment growth in Norfolk during the Plan period is expected to contribute to minimising greenhouse gas emissions arising from road transport by locating waste management facilities as close as practicable to the likely origin of the waste.

W2.4 The landscape designations of the Norfolk Coast AONB and the Broads Authority Executive Area are shown on the Key Diagram and the Policies Map along with the national and international ecological designations of Ramsar sites, SPAs, SACs (defined as habitats sites in the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017) and SSSIs. Some of these landscape and ecological designations occur in proximity to Norfolk's urban areas and main towns and are protected by national planning policy and in legislation.

W2.5 The NPPF sets out how to consider impacts of proposed development on the significance of a heritage asset. In accordance with NPPF (December 2023) paragraph 202, where a development proposal will lead to less than substantial harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset, this harm should be weighed against the public benefits of the proposal. Norfolk's designated heritage assets are shown on the Policies Map and are protected by legislation and in national planning policy. However, due to the number and scale of these designated heritage assets they are not shown on the Key Diagram.

W2.6 It is considered that the spatial strategy in Policy WP2, of locating waste management facilities within five miles of one of Norfolk's urban areas or three miles of one of the main towns provides for sufficient locations of waste management facilities within Norfolk. Therefore, it is not considered appropriate or necessary to include Key Service Centres, which are a lower tier in the settlement hierarchy, within the spatial strategy policy. It is also not considered necessary to or appropriate to increase the distance at which waste management facilities could be located from urban areas or main towns to any greater than five miles as this would cover the majority of the County and therefore would not provide an appropriate spatial strategy.

Map 4. 5-mile zones surrounding urban areas and 3-mile zones surrounding main towns

W3. Land suitable for waste management facilities – STRATEGIC POLICY

W3.1 Modern waste management facilities may require purpose designed buildings and structures which, in most instances, are suited to industrial areas. Most types of enclosed waste facilities, regardless of the technology used or waste type being processed, have similar locational requirements due to their potential to impact on local amenity and the environment. Such facilities are therefore directed towards specific suitable locations where any impacts can be more easily accommodated. Opportunities for integrated waste management will be encouraged, where various waste management operations can be co-located to reduce transport requirements, make efficient use of land and assist improved levels of waste recovery close to the source of the waste. The National Planning Policy for Waste (2014) states that, when identifying appropriate locations for waste management facilities, priority should be given to the reuse of previously developed land, sites identified for employment uses and redundant agricultural and forestry buildings and their curtilages, as well as looking for opportunities to co-locate waste management facilities together and with complementary activities.

W3.2 Waste management facilities that deal with waste in the open air can give rise to specific impacts such as noise and dust which can influence where such development should take place. Open air waste operations include aggregate recycling facilities and open windrow composting.

W3.3 Aggregate recycling facilities are likely to be best located either close to the source of the waste or the market for the recycled aggregate, to minimise transport distances. Further detail is contained in Policy WP4 which specifically applies to aggregate recycling facilities.

W3.4 Open windrow composting facilities are likely to be suitable in more rural locations due to their similarity to other agricultural developments (e.g. farms). They can produce odours because of the biodegrading process and therefore, rural, less populated locations are more appropriate for these facilities. Any particular requirements for minimising adverse effects on residential amenity and rural character will be expected to be demonstrated through a planning application. Policy WP8 specifically applies to composting facilities.

W3.5 The National Planning Policy for Waste states that "Waste Planning Authorities should identify, in their Local Plans, sites and/or areas for new and enhanced waste management facilities in appropriate locations."

W3.6 As stated in Policy WP1, sufficient capacity currently exists to meet the growth forecast in waste arisings and therefore it is not considered necessary to allocate any specific sites for waste management facilities in the NM&WLP. However, planning applications for waste management facilities are still expected to come forward during the Plan period, both to move waste management up the waste hierarchy and because waste management is a contract driven and competitive industry. Therefore, Policy WP3 identifies suitable types of land for the location of non-hazardous waste management facilities, excluding landfill sites (which are covered by Policies WP11 and WP12) and Water Recycling Centres (which are covered by Policy WP14). Further details are provided in the following policies that would apply to planning applications for particular types of waste management facilities.

W4. Recycling or transfer of inert construction, demolition and excavation waste, including the production of recycled aggregates

W4.1 The recycling of construction, demolition and excavation waste makes a significant contribution to meeting aggregates demand and to reduce pressure on land won and marine dredged sources of aggregate. Therefore, the recycling of these wastes provides a sustainable source of aggregates. Whilst the resultant material is typically lower grade, recycled inert material can still often act as a substitute for freshly excavated material. Potential environmental and amenity impacts from the recycling of inert CD&E wastes include noise and dust.

W4.2 Policy WP4 applies to proposals for the recycling or transfer of inert construction, demolition and excavation waste, and includes proposals to treat and process this waste and produce recycled aggregates. Proposals for the treatment of waste materials to produce recycled aggregates will be supported where the proposal will promote the sustainable management of waste in accordance with the principles of the waste hierarchy and will facilitate a reduction in the need for primary aggregates.

W4.3 Minerals can only be worked where they occur, which is normally within the open countryside. Ancillary development, such as recycling of inert CD&E waste, would not normally be allowed in the open countryside, and are only permitted on mineral workings in order to facilitate the timely phased restoration of the site. Therefore, the waste recycling operations should cease no later than the cessation date of the permitted mineral extraction and at least 12 months prior to the date for restoration to be completed. The recycling operation and associated plant and equipment should be removed if they are considered to be delaying the restoration of the site.

W5. Waste transfer stations, materials recycling facilities, end-of-life vehicle facilities and waste electrical and electronic equipment recovery facilities

W5.1 The main function of a waste transfer station is to facilitate the efficient transportation of waste by sorting loads from small collection vehicles such as skip lorries and reloading onto much larger lorries including articulated lorries for onward transportation. Waste transfer stations sort mixed waste to separate out the recyclable materials as well as bulking up waste into larger loads for onward transportation to recycling, recovery or disposal facilities.

W5.2 Materials recycling facilities are where recyclable wastes are separated into their different types for onward transportation to recyclers (such as paper/card, glass, metal and plastic). The remaining waste, called residual waste, is either sent to landfill or a treatment facility for recovery.

W5.3 End-of-life vehicle facilities remove potential pollutants from vehicles, remove the usable parts and send the scrap items off to recyclers. Waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) recovery facilities carry out the disassembly of WEEE and the separated parts and materials can then be either reused, recycled, recovered or disposed of at other waste management facilities. The exact treatment of WEEE can vary significantly according to the category of the waste and the technology that is used. As the treatment of WEEE is a specialised activity, often receiving waste from a large area, other facilities carry out the storage and transfer of WEEE before onward transportation to a treatment facility.

W6. Transfer, storage, processing and treatment of hazardous waste

W6.1 There are many different types of hazardous waste and five main categories of hazardous waste are:

• Construction and demolition waste, including asbestos, contaminated soils and treated wood
• Oily wastes, batteries and accumulators, and end-of-life-vehicles
• Chemical processing wastes and marine wastes
• Waste water treatment and water industry wastes
• Waste electrical and electronic equipment, including televisions and florescent tubes.

W6.2 Applications for facilities for the transfer, storage and treatment of waste electronic electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and end-of-life vehicles (ELV) will be determined in accordance with Policy WP5. Applications for other types of hazardous waste management facilities will be determined in accordance with Policy WP6 below.

W6.3 Hazardous wastes usually require specialised treatment and disposal facilities and, given the relatively small quantities of waste produced (compared to other waste streams), the catchment area of such facilities is often wider than a single county. Hazardous waste therefore travels considerable distances to specialised facilities across the country.

W7. Household Waste Recycling Centres

W7.1 The County Council has a statutory duty, as Waste Disposal Authority, to provide Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) for householders within Norfolk to dispose of their waste. There are 19 HWRCs in the county in 2024.

W7.2 A number of the HWRCs can at times suffer from constraints such as size restrictions and peak-time queues. Modern sites offer an improved recycling service, and the County Council would wish to consider the potential for upgrading more of its current sites, or construct new replacements sites, to these higher standards when opportunities emerge.

W7.3 Significant housing and employment growth is planned for Norfolk over the next twenty years. In the light of future housing growth and the desire to improve some existing sites, the County Council will continually be reviewing the current distribution, adequacy and number of HWRCs in the county. Improvements to existing sites and/or new sites may be required as the major housing growth planned for Norfolk is delivered.

W7.4 It is important to note that the upgrading of current HWRC sites and the construction of new sites is dependent on both the County Council finding suitable sites and securing necessary finance to purchase or lease the land, and to construct/improve the site.

W7.5 Although most potential HWRC improvements or new HWRC locations will be consistent with Policy WP3, there may be cases where there is a demand for a HWRC in a certain area, but no suitable sites are available. In these cases, where this has been demonstrated through an alternative site assessment, Policy WP7 will allow an appropriate proposal to be determined positively.

W8. Composting

W8.1 Composting is a natural process that involves the breakdown of organic material in the presence of air (aerobically). It creates a product that can be applied to land to improve soil structure and enrich the nutrient content of soil. Potential environmental and amenity impacts from composting include bio-aerosols, odour and dust.

W8.2 Open-air composting involves green waste (vegetation) which is shredded and placed outdoors in elongated heaps, which are kept at specific moisture and oxygen levels. The windrows are turned and re-mixed on a regular basis to maintain their aerobic state, until the active composting period is finished and the final product is ready. This form of composting can require a large site.

W8.3 In-vessel composting facilities promote aerobic degradation of organic waste including green waste and/or food waste within either an enclosed building or other form of containment that have forced air pumped into and extracted out of them and then discharged to the atmosphere via bio-filters that remove odours. The main advantage of this system over open-air composting is that it can take food waste, including meat, because the required temperature can be reached and maintained so that harmful bacteria can be neutralised. In-vessel composting often also requires some form of outdoor maturation.

W9. Anaerobic digestion

W9.1 Anaerobic digestion facilities promote anaerobic degradation of organic wastes such as animal wastes, energy crops, sewage sludge and vegetable tailings. The Waste Management Plan for England (2021) states that the government continues to support anaerobic digestion as the most effective way to treat separately collected food waste to produce energy and valuable bio-fertiliser. This ensures that food waste is diverted from landfill and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Anaerobic digestion is an enclosed process and can operate at a range of scales (from the very small to the very large). The process involves introducing the feedstock into a tank of bacteria rich slurry. Anaerobic digestion produces biogas (a mixture of around 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide) and digestate. The biogas can be burned directly in a gas boiler to produce heat or burnt in a combined heat and power (CHP) unit to produce heat and electricity. Alternatively, the biogas can be cleaned to remove the carbon dioxide and other substances, to produce biomethane, which can be injected into the national gas grid to be used in the same way as natural gas or used as a vehicle fuel. The organic waste is converted into a nutrient rich digestate (which can be used as a fertiliser if produced from source segregated biodegradable waste). The main advantage of anaerobic digestion over composting is the electrical power is produced.

W10. Residual waste treatment facilities

W10.1 Residual waste is the waste that is not re-used, recycled or composted. The residual waste treatment facilities policy is technology neutral. There are various types of residual waste treatment facilities, which range in size from very big to very small. Residual waste treatment facilities fall into two main categories:

• Thermal treatment – involving some form of combustion of the waste
• Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) – where the waste is stabilised through some form of biological treatment after, and/or before, mechanical separation of the non-organic material.

W10.2 Within these broad categories there is a wide range of residual waste treatment technologies, which Policy WP10 would apply to:

Direct Energy from Waste in which the waste is combusted and used to generate electricity and also potentially to supply a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Scheme.

Advanced Thermal Treatment including gasification and pyrolysis, in which the waste is charred in low or zero levels of oxygen and the resulting gases are recovered for combustion to generate electricity or CHP.

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) and Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) is produced from the waste, sometimes as part of an MBT process, and then used as a fuel at another facility to generate electricity or CHP.

Autoclave/Mechanical Heat Treatment in which the waste is subjected to heat and steam to break down the organic fibres and aid separation of the recyclable/combustible material.

Mechanical and Biological Treatment (MBT) in which the recyclable and/or readily combustible waste is separated from the remaining organic/lower grade waste. The remaining waste is then either stabilised by in-vessel composting or anaerobic digestion. The composting or anaerobic digestion process has the effect of significantly reducing the volume of the waste and reducing the biodegradable potential of the residue. The residue is either landfilled or processed further to make a refuse derived fuel.

W10.3 The Waste Management Plan for England (2021) states that "the government supports efficient energy recovery from residual waste – energy from waste is generally the best management option for waste that cannot be reused or recycled in terms of environmental impact and getting values from the waste as a resource".

W10.4 In 2014 Norfolk County Council adopted waste procurement policies which relate specifically to the management of the residual Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW) for which the County Council, as Waste Disposal Authority, is responsible. The waste procurement policies state that any proposed waste treatment facility in Norfolk will reduce dependency on landfill and must be higher up the waste hierarchy than incineration. The waste procurement policies also state that incineration of waste or fuel derived from waste is accepted outside Norfolk and any such arrangements should be reviewed by Committee on an annual basis. The waste procurement policies are not land use planning policies, but as LACW is a significant waste stream the procurement policies could influence the nature of residual waste management site brought forward over the plan period.

W11. Disposal of inert waste by landfill

W11.1 Many inert wastes can and should be reused or recycled whenever possible. Although landfill is the least preferred option within the waste hierarchy, there may be a need for the disposal of inert material to landfill if no other waste management method is practicable. In particular, inert waste can be used to enable the restoration of former mineral workings to a satisfactory landform and afteruse. This may be considered a recovery operation rather than a disposal operation if the Environment Agency considers that the proposal meets one of two recovery tests: Is there a statutory obligation to undertake the work (i.e. has a regulator imposed a legal requirement for the restoration of a site to be completed in accordance with an approved restoration plan), or would it be financially viable for the scheme to be completed using non-waste materials (i.e. the waste is being used as a substitute for non-waste materials)?

W11.2 In 2020 Norfolk had three inert waste landfill sites located at Blackborough End, Spixworth and Cantley. The Cantley site is for the disposal of waste soils from the sugar beet processing factory, but it is not currently receiving waste as the waste soils are being recycled instead. There are also several mineral extraction sites in Norfolk that are being restored with inert waste.

W11.3 Where possible, restoration should be focused on providing multiple benefits of biodiversity, landscape and historic environment enhancement through restoration with public amenity value.

W11.4 When planning ahead for restoration, it is important that the setting of heritage assets, the historic character of landscape and the archaeology of the site itself are given due consideration. Landscape characterisation techniques can inform decision-making, enabling restoration to reflect or harmonise with the character of the surrounding landscape. The results of archaeological investigation can provide evidence of past land use that can help to inform decisions on appropriate future land use.

W11.5 Applicants should note that ecological interest can be incorporated into most schemes that are primarily for another after-use. Restoration schemes should achieve a net gain for nature primarily through providing linkages to local ecological networks and creating priority habitats to encourage priority species.

W11.6 Planning obligations and/or conditions will be used to ensure that restoration and commencement of a beneficial after-use takes place at the earliest opportunity and within an appropriate timeframe. Any site restored to 'public amenity' must provide appropriate access to the general public. Access links to Public Rights of Way and national trails should be provided where appropriate. Planning conditions and/or obligations may be used to determine the required duration of aftercare of restored sites and an agreement for management of such sites in the long term, where appropriate.

W11.7 Any proposals for additional inert waste landfill voidspace would be determined in accordance with Policy WP11 below.

W12. Non-hazardous and hazardous waste landfill

W12.1 Landfill sites are facilities where waste is disposed of mainly below ground level. Modern landfill practice requires a significant degree of engineering 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.

W12.2 Norfolk does not have any hazardous waste landfill capacity. At the end of 2020 Norfolk had an estimated 4.971 million m³ of void capacity (remaining landfill space) at two non-hazardous waste landfill sites which are located in west Norfolk at Blackborough End and Feltwell.

W12.3Permitted void space within the two non-hazardous landfill sites at Feltwell and Blackborough End was 3.529 million m³ at the end of 2022; 1.304 million m³ for non-hazardous waste and 2.225 million m³ for inert waste. Feltwell landfill site has been inactive since 2012. The Environment Agency's data states that the remaining void capacity at Feltwell landfill is 1.204 million m³ and the remaining void capacity at Blackborough End is 2.325 million m³ at the end of 2022. However, 2.225 million m³ of this voidspace is expected to be used for inert waste only, leaving 0.1 million m³ voidspace for non-hazardous waste. Therefore, the total landfill voidspace for non-hazardous waste disposal in Norfolk is 1.304 million m³. The position at the end of 2023 is that Feltwell landfill is required to be restored by 2041 and Blackborough End landfill is required to be restored by the end of 2026.

W12.4 Most of Norfolk has unsuitable geology for the location of new non-hazardous or hazardous waste landfill sites; these are areas of Major Aquifers and Minor Aquifers that have high vulnerability and intermediate vulnerability. New non-hazardous or hazardous waste landfill sites would also not be suitable within groundwater Source Protection Zones 1 and 2. The land west of the River Ouse is an area of Norfolk that is not an aquifer, however, this area is at high risk of flooding and therefore would also not be a suitable location for a new non-hazardous or hazardous waste landfill site.

W12.5 Where possible, restoration should be focused on providing multiple benefits of biodiversity, landscape and historic environment enhancement through restoration with public amenity value. Further details are provided in paragraphs W11.4, W11.5 and W11.6.

W12.6 Any proposals for additional non-hazardous or hazardous waste landfill voidspace would be determined in accordance with Policy WP12 below.

W13. Landfill Mining and Reclamation

W13.1 Historically the options for waste management were limited to what would be called 'final disposal' today with little or no recycling or reuse of materials. Over time, uncontrolled landfilling has been phased out, and more stringent regulatory requirements were imposed to ensure the environment and human health were effectively managed. Landfill is now recognised as the least preferred form of waste management through the waste hierarchy and legislative drivers such as the incrementally increasing landfill tax are acting to reduce the viability of landfilling as a means of managing waste. However, Norfolk has a legacy associated with historic mining operations, with approximately 300 historic landfills of various types located across Norfolk.

W13.2 As resources become scarcer, the value in previously disposed wastes is being increasingly recognised. With the notion of the circular economy gaining momentum, attention is turning towards the potential resource and energy value that could be recovered through extracting material from historic landfills, through a process known as Landfill Mining and Reclamation.

W13.3 At present, landfill mining schemes are little more than trials, as it is not yet considered to be cost effective at a significant scale^[3]. In 2012, Zero Waste Scotland, commissioned Ricardo-AEA to undertake a Scoping Study 'Feasibility and Viability of Landfill Mining and Reclamation in Scotland'. This identified more barriers than drivers to this process at present, although this may change towards the latter parts of this Plan period. In order for this Minerals and Waste Local Plan to be able to respond to any technological advancement in landfill mining, there is a requirement to set out a policy stance.

W13.4 Landfill mining and reclamation may be required in Norfolk for reasons not linked to purely economic concerns. Examples could include where the historic landfill site suffers from poor engineering, or if it is currently the cause of significant pollution, environmental or health impacts which justifies its reopening.

W13.5 However, the mining or excavation of waste has the potential to given rise to significant environmental issues. In the case of putrescible waste, this could potentially result in the rapid increase of leachate, landfill gas and odours. Therefore, any proposal will need to demonstrate mitigation of any impact on the local environment and amenity in accordance with other policies in this Plan. Further, landfills are normally a temporary use of land which is subsequently returned to its former, or an alternative use, such as agriculture or biodiversity and the excavation of landfilled waste may disturb previously restored sites or delay the final restoration of sites. Therefore, there are only certain circumstances where it is considered that landfill mining or excavation is justified.

W14. Water Recycling Centres

W14.1 Water Recycling Centres (WRCs) (also known as Wastewater Treatment Works), treat wastewater and sewage; they are a vital part of community infrastructure and are necessary to protect human health and water quality. Existing Water Recycling Centres will be safeguarded through the application of Policy WP17.

W14.2 With increasing populations and water quality standards there is continuing investment being made into wastewater treatment. Permitted development rights exist for certain types of water and sewerage development which are set out in the General Permitted Development Rights Order 2015 (as amended). However, there are still applications that will need to be determined beyond the thresholds for permitted development.

W14.3In March 2022 Natural England wrote to 74 local planning authorities (LPAs) advising them that under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, they should carefully consider the nutrient impacts of any new plans, policies, and development proposals on protected habitat sites. The protected habitats of concern in Norfolk are the River Wensum Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to phosphorous enrichment and the Broads SAC and Broadland Ramsar due to phosphorous and nitrogen enrichment. Nutrient impacts are the result of organic waste derived from agricultural runoff, wastewater treatment works and wastewater from new development. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 makes it a legal requirement for certain wastewater treatment works designated by the secretary of State to be upgraded by water companies to technical achievable limits by April 2030. These upgrades are for certain wastewater treatment works meeting particular criteria including their location in nutrient sensitive areas such as the River Wensum SAC and The Broads SAC. The following wastewater treatment works in Norfolk are required to be upgraded by 2030: Aylsham, Belaugh, Bylaugh, Briston, Dereham, Fakenham, Forncett End, Hempnall, Long Stratton, Mattishall, Reepham, Saxlingham, Shipdham, Stalham, Swardeston, Whitlingham and Wymondham.