The management of waste is one of the key themes of 'sustainable development' (Williams 1998). The concept of sustainable development originated from the 1992 United Nations Rio Conference on Environment and Development, and its most commonly used working definition is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987). The four main aims of sustainable development are described in the Government's Sustainable Development Strategy, A Better Quality of Life, as follows:

• social progress which recognises everyone's needs
• effective protection of the environment
• prudent use of natural resources
• maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment (DETR 1999).

The policy framework for UK waste management is set out in the waste strategies for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, based on regional factors, such as topology and the current waste management infrastructure. However, several common policies can be found in all the strategies:

• commitment to meet the requirements of the Landfill Directive
• necessity for improvement in markets for waste products, to enable an increase in materials recycling
• requirement to deal with the acknowledged growth in waste arisings
• voluntary or aspirational targets relating to recycling
• need to acknowledge the scale of the problem in each country and review current waste management regimes
• waste management options are to provide a balance of how waste is managed
• waste minimisation and reduction of waste is vital
• encouragement of a partnership approach between all stakeholders.

The three Rs principle of waste (reduction, re-use and recovery), otherwise known as the waste hierarchy, has been very widely adopted, and official recognition from the government was forthcoming in 1995 with the publication of Making Waste Work (Department of the Environment and Welsh Office 1995).

The basic premise is that of reducing the amount of waste produced whenever and wherever possible. It may seem the obvious course of action but it is only in the last few years that schemes have been initiated. Such examples include the DETR /Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) collaboration on the Environmental Technology Best Practice Programme (ETBPP), and the individual Global Action Plan (GAP) schemes of Action at Home, School and Work. These and similar schemes provide specific advice not only on waste minimisation and reduction, but also other environmental issues such as energy and water savings. The ETBPP has been rebranded as Envirowise and continues work in waste minimisation.

If waste reduction is not practical, consideration should be given to re-use. Glass milk bottle delivery and collection is a familiar example. This option is dying out for economic and convenience reasons but there are still examples of practical reuse occurring. Currently over 50% of domestic white goods going to disposal are sent for reuse before being consigned to other disposal routes (Anderson 1999).

Recovery is the final option if neither reduction nor reuse is practical. Recovery encompasses recycling, composting and disposal with energy recovery. The Waste Strategy for England and Wales 2000 suggests that incineration with energy recovery should not be considered before the opportunities for recycling and composting have been explored.

The options for recycling are somewhat limited due to unstable economic conditions in recyclate markets. Barriers and misconceptions also exist around the quality of products using recycled material. Solutions to this problem have become more prominent with establishment of the Market Development Group by DETR , and releasing the group's report at the same time as the National Waste Strategy. The report has suggested ways of encouraging the use of recyclate in products, thereby increasing demand and creating viable markets for the initial recycled material. This would make recyclate more competitive with virgin feedstocks. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has been set up in response to this, to assist in stimulating markets and bringing down barriers relating to the use of recyclate in products. Landfilling and incineration, without energy recovery, should only be used as a last option. There are very few incinerators without energy recovery still operating in the UK, as most of these facilities have been shut down or are being upgraded to meet stringent emissions limits and to provide energy recovery. There will always be materials for which there is no other practical disposal solution. The composition of the waste material and their distance from recycling or recovery plants may dictate the final disposal solution.

The Proximity Principle is an important factor in the assessment of waste disposal. Waste should be disposed of as close to its source as possible. This reduces time, energy, the possibility of accident and the expense of long distance transport, all of which may eventually outweigh the benefits of options such as recycling or composting. The proximity principle also alerts waste producers and the general public to factors concerning quantity and disposal, which in turn encourages waste reduction.

Often used by planning authorities and industry as guidance when proposing waste management facilities, the proximity principle can be used in conjunction with the waste hierarchy to achieve the Best Practical Environmental Option (BPEO).

The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) defined the BPEO as "the outcome of systematic and consultative decision making procedure which emphasises the protection and conservation of the environment across land, air and water. The BPEO procedure establishes, for a given set of objectives, the option that provides the most benefits or the least damage to the environment as a whole, at acceptable cost, in the long term as well as in the short term".

BATNEEC is an important element of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (see Types of Waste A-Z Listing: Chemicals). BATNEEC has a key objective of upgrading old processes to meet new standards. This then forms part of Integrated Pollution Control (IPC). These processes include organic waste treatment, incineration and disposal of chemicals.