National Issues
Waste
It is estimated by Waste Watch that we produce more than 430 million tonnes of rubbish per year in the UK alone. While the majority of this comes from industrial and business sources, over 25 million tonnes are created in our homes, with the average person throwing away about 7 times their body weight in rubbish every year! The amount of waste being produced in our homes is increasing at an estimated rate of 3% per year.
Historically, the UK has landfilled much of its waste. The Environment Agency estimates that about 100 million tonnes of waste is landfilled every year (in England and Wales). Not only does this cause serious environmental damage, but our continued reliance on the disposal of waste to landfill means that the amount of space available in landfill sites is decreasing. Without any change in the way our waste is disposed of, the Environment Agency estimate that the space approved for landfill sites will run out in the next 5-10 years.
In addition to landfills taking up valuable space, they also pollute soil and watercourses, attract flies, and produce odours.
About two thirds of the waste sent to landfill is biodegradable. This biodegradable waste produces methane, which contributes to global warming (1 tonne of biodegradable waste is estimated to produce between 200 and 400 m 3 of landfill gas, a significant proportion of which is methane).
Water Supply
Climate change represents a significant threat to the reliability of our water supplies. It is predicted that climate change will result in wetter winters, but the summers will be warmer and drier with longer growing seasons. This will put huge pressures on water resources with declining water reserves and higher water demands. It can be argued that the impact of climate change on water supplies is already happening. In England and Wales, 2003 was one of the driest years in recent records. At the beginning of 2003, combined reservoir supplies for England and Wales were 95% full, but these were reduced significantly over the summer to reach a level of 50% full in October.
This picture of the reservoir at Hawswater in October 2003 shows how low the water level can become when there is a sustained period of drought.
Source: Environment Agency.
Another factor putting pressure on the UK’s water supply is an increasing demand for water caused by an increase in the population. Without improvements in water use efficiency and a reduction in the amount of water wasted, these population increases could have a substantial effect on the amount of water available.
Together, the threats of drought and increased abstraction of water from aquatic sources puts many water systems under an increasing amount of stress, this in turn can have serious consequences on the habitats and species present.
Water Quality
Water quality has improved substantially in the UK since 1990. This is due to a number of factors including the clean-up of discharges from sewage treatment works and industry, and also a greater focus on pollution prevention.
Due to a reduced industrial contribution to water pollution, the Environment Agency now believe that diffuse pollution from agriculture is the single biggest future challenge for improving water quality in the UK. Agriculture is responsible for producing 70% of nitrates and 40% of phosphates found in English waters. Increased levels of these nutrients leads to the eutrophication of marine and freshwater environments. Consequences of this include a decease in the water’s oxygen supply, causing the disappearance of many animal and plant species, the water may eventually become unsuitable for drinking (even after treatment).
Climate change also presents a challenge to water quality, as higher temperatures would mean increased evaporation from water sources, and increased frequency of algal blooms. There could also be increased runoff of pollutants from urban and agricultural land into the aquatic environment, particularly following periods of drought where the land is hard and slow to absorb water.
Coastal Water
It is estimated that up to half of the UK’s biodiversity can be found in our seas. Threats to this environment arise from climate change, which will cause increases in sea temperature. This in turn will alter habitats, impact on species, and lead to rising sea levels. In addition to this, significant threats to coastal ecosystems arise from the overexploitation of commericial fish stocks.
As an island nation, coastal water quality is an important issue affecting many of us in the UK. Our seas are at risk from a range of pollutants, which can enter the sea from polluted rivers and air, or directly from their source such as sewage effluent and industrial discharges.
However, over the last 10 years, there has been an increased investment by water companies and industry to reduce the amount of pollutants discharged into coastal waters. This investment has led to an increased complience of UK coastal waters with water quality standards. Of the 494 bathing waters monitored in 2005, 99% of these met the mandatory EU standard for bathing water quality. This represents an increase of 20% compared to 1990 (85% of the bathing waters also met the higher quality standard).
In 2005, 318 beaches in England and Wales have a Seaside Award, and 103 have achieved Blue Flag status.