THE final consultation on Devon County Council's new Waste Plan started on Monday and runs for 12 weeks.

The Devon Waste Plan and all representations made on the plan will be submitted to the Government for examination by a planning inspector after this latest consultation ends on February 24.

The document has undergone two previous rounds of public consultation, with a number of public exhibitions being held at locations across the county since work on the plan started in Spring 2010.

The latest 'pre-submission' version of the plan has been informed by feedback from these previous consultations, to set out policies for the next 18 years on how to deal with the two million tonnes of waste generated annually in Devon.

The plan aims to increase recycling of household and business waste to levels of at least 64% by 2031 and disposal of waste is intended to account for less than 5%.

New landfill or other disposal will only be allowed where there is a demonstrable need. Devon's 'energy recovery' need is forecast at approximately 437,000 tonnes, and of this 60,000 tonnes will be delivered through the Energy from Waste plant in Plymouth.

Energy recovery can include anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, gasification, or incineration.

As the Waste Plan looks so far ahead, it does not prescribe the type of facilities that may be appropriate in each location, so as not to rule out any innovative or sustainable technologies coming forward in future, and the county council has no proposals itself for building waste facilities at any of the site options.

Cllr James McInnes, chairman of Devon County Council's development manage-ment committee and West Devon borough councillor of the Lew Valley, said: 'The feedback we have received from organi-sations, stakeholders and individuals during pre-vious consultations has helped shape the current draft of Devon Waste Plan.

'We hope that involvement continues now that we have reached this crucial phase ahead of the submission of the document to Government.

'Devon is among the top three performing counties in the country when it comes to recycling waste, with a recycling rate of around 55% of household and business waste, and we must continue that progress towards more sustainable waste management.

'The Devon Waste Plan recognises the increasing importance of treating waste as a valuable resource rather than merely as a problem.

'It emphasises the need to increase the recovery of materials from mixed waste for subsequent re-use or recycling, and to achieve the most efficient use of the energy that can be obtained from the residual waste.'

The Devon Waste Plan and supporting evidence, together with details of local exhibitions and how to submit comments, can be found on Devon County Council's website at http://www.devon.gov.uk/dwp2013">www.devon.gov.uk/dwp2013