March 2022 - if you want to delete something, make your own copy… only additions please

Resource for Paper 3 - Geographical Applications

June 2022

Pre-release resources booklet

8035/3/PM

Image source: https://www.pngegg.com/en/png-zhjqg/download

Contents

Figure 1 - p.2-3

Figure 2 - p.4-5

Figure 3 - p.6-7

Glossary

Further Reading

Appendices - GIS Maps

AQA Guidance

Please note that AQA guidance on the use of the Pre-release materials is here:

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/geography/gcse/geography-8035/assessment-resources?f.Resource+type%7C6=Notes+and+guidance

Use the Skills checklist in the specification

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/geography/gcse/geography-8035

Figure 1: Managing waste in the UK - p.2-3

While going through the booklet, build up a glossary of key terms (see the end of this document for some suggestions)

Page 2

Activity 1

Pie chart analysis

PIE CHART ON PAGE 2

What does it show?

Largest / smallest etc. sources

What might the ‘other’ consist of - what other waste streams are there?

Activity 2

Bar graph analysis

BAR CHART ON PAGE 2

Values in each year
Trend
Change in cost between each year

Notice the uneven interval between the bars.

How much is 69kg? Can that be visualised?

How does that compare with other countries? And what do other countries do with their food waste?

Activity 3

Waste Disposal in the UK.

Explore each of the options that are suggested.

Why might the UK’s recycling rate have slowed in recent years?

What are the pros and cons of each one?

Method - what type of waste can be treated in this way?	Pros	Cons
Landfill
Incineration
Recycling
Anaerobic digestion
Composting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89w-g-XmIOU
Video comparing UK food waste to other countries. Suggests reasons for food waste and the consequences.

IMAGE ON RECYCLING HOUSEHOLD WASTE

The waste company Biffa is one of several companies.

https://www.biffa.co.uk/

Activity 4

What misunderstanding is leading to reduced recycling rates?

How could the misunderstanding be cleared up?

Page 3

Activity 5

Line graph analysis

LINE GRAPH ON PAGE 3

By how much has it gone up between - insert dates here…

What happened after 2018? When did recycling rates peak?

What lies behind the rise in recycling?

Activity 6

Waste Exports

Top 5 countries - plastic exports

Greenpeace: https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/malaysia-endures-toxic-legacy-of-uk-plastic-waste-exports/

https://www.greenpeace.org/malaysia/publication/3349/the-recycling-myth-2-0/

China introduced a ban on exported waste in 2017 and other countries followed.

In 2017, China announced an unprecedented ban on its import of most plastic waste, resulting in a sharp decline in global plastic waste trade flow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%27s_waste_import_ban

How could the amount of consumer waste be reduced?

E.g. Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)

https://www.biffa.co.uk/deposit-return-scheme

Sustainable Waste Economy

Circular Economy - Ellen MacArthur Foundation

https://archive.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/explore/the-circular-economy-in-detail#:~:text=A%20circular%20economy%20is%20a,the%20consumption%20of%20finite%20resources.

Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCRKvDyyHmI

When some of your teachers were born they might remember being asked to pay extra for the bottle of their pop, and getting the money back when it was returned:

https://plasticsmartcities.org/products/deposit-return-program#:~:text=In%20Europe%2C%2010%20countries%20have%20already%20implemented%20deposit%20return%20schemes,which%20have%20achieved%20significant%20results.

These include reverse vending machines.

https://www.tomra.com/en/collection/reverse-vending

Need to move away from the Linear economy as shown in the Story of Stuff films

https://www.storyofstuff.org/

Figure 2: Proposed energy from waste incinerator for Cambridge - p.4-5

Page 4

IMAGE ON PAGE 4

Proposed building - credit: Archant

The chimney is not very obvious from this view…

Company proposing the scheme was Amey Cespa.

“Although the current processes aim to manage the waste created by households and businesses as effectively as possible, we are still landfilling about 200000 tonnes of waste every year. This is expensive and not very environmentally friendly and the space available for landfilling will eventually run out. The proposed energy from waste facility will provide an alternative to landfill and create sustainable and affordable energy by burning the waste”. It will use state-of-the-art technology and be strictly monitored by the Environment Agency

https://wasteservices.amey.co.uk/

It already runs Waterbeach Waste Management Park, to the south of Ely.

https://wasteservices.amey.co.uk/where-we-work/cambridgeshire/waterbeach-waste-management-park/

This has an education section, which focuses on recycling and composting - not incineration

https://wasteservices.amey.co.uk/where-we-work/cambridgeshire/schools-and-the-community/education/learning-links/

Conflicting views on waste incineration:

IMAGE OF CONFLICTING VIEWS

Can you identify other views on waste incineration?

These need to be AUTHENTIC voices and not invented.

Page 5

Activity 7

Describe the site.

Using the OS map extract (and other mapping where available)

A map of the area can be produced using Digimap for Schools if a school subscription is available. This can also be used to mark up with text notes and labels and additional information.

https://digimapforschools.edina.ac.uk/

The proposed site was near Waterbeach, which is between the edge of Cambridge - Milton and the Science Park and the city of Ely.

ESRI ArcGIS StoryMaps have OS mapping (free school subscription available)

https://schools.esriuk.com/

https://schools.esriuk.com/sign-up/

Site analysis

Site (GR)
Situation
Relief
Size
Nearby relevant amenities and infrastructure
How far away from the nearest residential properties is the proposed site?
If the wind blows from a prevailing westerly direction which areas / properties might be affected by emissions from the incinerator
Potential conflicts in the local area
Road details:

You can also find the site on Google Maps:

https://goo.gl/maps/brbQYxfDuBPQtCvD8

Street View image date - September 2021

You can see a vehicle leaving here - would increased traffic of this kind be part of the objections to the proposed new site?

Activity 8

Read this piece from Cambridgeshire Live! - questions asked of the company that proposed to build the incinerator

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/special-features/11-things-you-need-know-17211500?int_source=nba

Veolia is a company which operates a network of waste incinerators.

E.g. Sheffield

Image: Veolia incinerator in Sheffield - Alan Parkinson - CC licensed

Is there evidence of health impacts downwind of existing incinerators?

Veolia talk about the ‘green energy’ they produce

https://www.veolia.com/en/solution/green-energy-household-waste

With the current increase in the oil price, is this an additional benefit of incineration?

Figure 3: A waste incinerator for Cambridge a burning issue - p.6-7

The proposed site sits within Fenland

This landscape comprises the flat agricultural landscape surrounding the fen islands and extends far beyond the study area. Within the study area, the topography ranges from -5m AOD to +5m AOD and is generally sparsely vegetated. The soil is a characteristic rich dark brown reminiscent of earlier flooded fen and the development of peat. The flat topography of this landscape and its sparse vegetation results in a feeling of vast scale and exposure, with long distant views, particularly to the fen islands and built landmarks such as churches and Ely Cathedral. The rectilinear pattern of drainage ditches, many of which were laid out in the seventeenth century, is a strong landscape characteristic. Where vegetation occurs, generally in the form of windbreaks, it follows this drain network and reinforces the pattern.

Source: Quintessential views PDF (see later)

Image: Fens outside Ely - Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license

Activity 9

Page 6

Look at the arguments for and against the incinerator laid out below.

Set them out using a visual organiser e.g.

One one hand, on the other hand.

E.g. TES download

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/on-one-hand-on-the-other-hand-11304893

Scales (weighing up options)

Some free templates here:

https://www.hmhco.com/blog/free-graphic-organizer-templates

E.g. (using statistics from the document)

The new facility could generate enough electricity for 63000 homes
Over 300 jobs would be created during construction and operational phases

IMAGE: ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST WASTE INCINERATION

E.g.

However, many local people feel that the size of the proposed development will put even more pressure on the rural-urban fringe and damage the look of the countryside. The 80-metre chimney and huge building will be very intrusive in the low-lying landscape. There is also concern about the impact of heavy vehicle traffic on nearby residential areas during construction and the threat of air pollution to the residents of the new town.

Local landfill capacity is getting close to being full according to the document:

Currently, a high proportion of waste goes to landfill, but the existing landfill capacity will soon be full. If the incinerator is not built waste will need to be transported much further to alternative landfill sites.

Video here - thanks to Rob Chambers

https://youtu.be/6vzcbgBAewU

Activity 10

Some background context

The incinerator would take waste from the city of Cambridge and surrounding areas, including the city of Peterborough - how much waste would that be?

https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/what-happens-to-your-recycling-and-rubbish

A major part of the city is owned by the world-famous University

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/waste-produced-cambridge-university-more-15198087

Video

An AMEY video shows the current facility:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8vXCJB4YOQ

Page 7

It is very close to Denny Abbey and the Denny Farmland Museum, a listed building and a tourist attraction visited by many people throughout the year.

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/denny-abbey-and-the-farmland-museum/

Is this a valid point?

Boris Johnson’s comments on recycling - how helpful were these?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nby9bZGiiMU

IMAGE: WHY BOTHER RECYCLING IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Explore the hierarchy and explain why you think this order was agreed on.

Activity 11

The proposed incinerator was potentially going to dominate the view towards Ely Cathedral from Waterbeach.

Ely Cathedral is also called the ‘Ship of the Fens’

Image: Ely Cathedral from King’s Ely Monastic Barn - image: Alan Parkinson - CC licensed

Certain views of this building from particular directions and locations are protected, just as there are protected views of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London:

Ely Quintessential views document:

https://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/sites/default/files/PE24%20Ely%20Quintessential%20Views%20Rpt.pdf

Introduction:

The City of Ely is visible over significant distances due to its elevated location on the Ely Isle surrounded by Fen land, but also due to the distinctive silhouette of the Cathedral on the skyline which makes it readily identifiable from the surrounding landscape. The Cathedral dominates views and provides Ely’s most distinctive landmark. From whichever direction the visitor approaches Ely, the silhouette of the Cathedral stands out on the skyline, with its single tower at the west end and the wide and comparatively squat octagonal lantern to the east.

As a popular place to live, with good road and high speed public transport links to Cambridge, London and other destinations, Ely faces pressure for future growth and development. Maintaining Ely’s landscape setting and Cathedral views will be vitally important in conserving the city’s unique character.

Other recent developments had to protect this view e.g. Ely Southern bypass

Natural England - Landscape Character - The Fens

http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6229624#:~:text=The%20Fens%20National%20Character%20Area,extensive%20vistas%20to%20level%20horizons.

Objections to the incinerator came from CPRE

Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE)

https://www.cpre.org.uk/

Local group: http://www.cprecambs.org.uk/

Statement on the decision (see later):

http://www.cprecambs.org.uk/campaigns/housing-and-planning/recent-actions/item/2313-waste-incinerator-waterbeach-rejected-campaigns

Activity 12

As one might imagine, there are often campaign groups set up to protest against such developments.

E.g. King’s Lynn

UKWIN - a successful campaign in 2015

https://ukwin.org.uk/2015/01/14/celebrations-after-kings-lynn-incinerator-victory/

Some suggested that the incinerator that Norfolk didn’t want was then tried again in Cambridgeshire, just further down the A10.

In the Waterbeach example, the campaign was called CBWIN.

Cambridge Without Incineration Residents Association (CBWIN) hoped to commission an independent landscape review as part of their campaign to halt approval being given for the new incinerator.

http://www.cbwin.co.uk/

Look at the information on this website but be aware of potential bias (as is also the case with any statements from any of the people involved in this story).

One source to consider is this independent landscape review which was commissioned by the campaign group.

http://1b4b189a-6c60-4781-ae5a-752be4c24983.filesusr.com/ugd/fc7b2e_e692d0c884d546bbbfe34d7971936d06.pdf

This was carried out by independent consultant Michelle Bolger, and is a very useful document to refer to:

Check out their Twitter feed as well for previous tweets:

https://twitter.com/NO2incineration

I like the name of this campaign

Wey Valley

https://www.noweyincinerator.com/

Usually with an issue, students would be asked to decide whether this should go ahead or not - in this case, they don’t have to because…

Spoiler alert: The incinerator proposal was rejected in 2020.

Is it worth cutting that bit off when students are first given the document, and coming back to that later?

Perhaps asking them to guess ‘what happened next’?

Students could be asked to make a case for and against the proposed plan, showing the real need for additional waste disposal capacity given the increase in waste that is being produced, or is an alternative approach required, to reduce waste in the first place?

Consider the different factors involved here:

Economic

Environmental

Social

Political

Aesthetic

etc.

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/controversial-waterbeach-waste-incinerator-not-18427418 - from June 2020 - gives the news of the result on the planning.

Reasons for the incinerator not getting the go ahead?