24 June 2011 Waste management company, SITA UK has published a report that shows that the public's perception of waste projects could be significantly increased by offering community incentives such as utility discounts to those living near the proposed facilities.
The report - Public Attitudes to Community Buy-in for Waste and Resource Infrastructure - commissioned by SITA UK was undertaken by Ray Georgeson Resources and market research specialists GfK NOP.
The study was based on a series of focus group sessions and face-to-face interviews with 1000 residents. In the survey 45% of residents surveyed would be happy for a new facility to be built if the local community got something in return.
The report claims that people typically do not consider what happens to their waste once it is collected from their doorstep. The majority of the respondents (60%) were unaware of the limited availability of landfill space.
However, although many were new to the term energy from waste, when it was explained that instead of being sent to landfill, waste that is left after recycling has taken place can be burned in a controlled fashion in a 'modern incinerator' and used to generate electricity, a strong majority (79%) felt that energy from waste was a good idea.
The report says that of the focus groups conducted the strongest support for waste to energy came from those living in urban areas, where the idea of citing the facilities in industrial areas. Those participants from rural areas showed the greatest level of concern about the concept.
However, when discussing the idea that these facilities should provide some type of community buy-in, where the residents of the area receive some form of benefit, such as cheap electricity or funding for community projects, opinion was again divided. Some participants were suspicious of being 'bribed', while others viewed the idea more positively as a form of compensation.
Aesthetics In addition to personal or communal financial gain, aesthetics played an important role in shaping people's attitudes. The participants were shown photographs of a number of UK waste to energy facilities, with the isle of man facility (pictured) receiving the most positive assessments.
According to the report, participants felt that a modern design that is sympathetic to the local environment would be important when developing and planning the placement of a new waste to energy plant
The survey found that 19% would be happy would be happy for a new waste treatment facility to be built in their area if the local community without any incentive. A further 45% would be satisfied if the facility offered something in return.
However 21% would not be happy to have a waste facility in their area no matter what was offered, with this group consisting of marginally more females than males, as well as a higher%age from higher socio-economic groups.
The report concludes that the level of support for a local facility increased when a community fund was proposed and even more so when discounts were offered.
David Palmer-Jones, CEO of SITA UK, said: "?its findings are a real insight into the way people think and feel about waste infrastructure and the kind of conditions that they believe are acceptable in order to gain their support. We must listen carefully to this if we are to have any hope of making up the shortfall of modern, sustainable facilities needed to deal with this country's waste."
Ray Georgeson, Director of Ray Georgeson Resources, said: "The coalition government has spent a lot of its short tenure advocating that 'incentivisation' is the best way to encourage more positive attitudes towards recycling and waste."
"Over the next few years the UK will need to develop numerous new recycling and waste management facilities to provide a sustainable treatment route for the waste that currently goes to landfill. So it makes sense to understand exactly how communities feel about hosting these and if by providing incentives we can make these projects more acceptable."
The report concludes with three recommendations in response to the research:
- More research is needed into the levels of community incentives
- Local authorities should incorporate thinking around community incentives early on in their development plans
- If chosen, utility discount incentives should be attributed to the property not the property owner.
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