Wastenet > About Wastenet

About Wastenet

Wastenet: The Waste and Resources Research Community Web Portal supported by Defra

What is it?

  • Wastenet is a free, online resource for the research community, providing easy, centralised access to relevant and up-to- date information about waste and resources research. There is well-established support within the UK research community for such a resource.
  • The Wastenet concept was developed during 2000/2001 with Landfill Tax Credit Scheme funding donated through the Environmental Services Association Research Trust, ESART. Wide consultation with key stakeholders identified enthusiastic support for a network to aid the co-ordination and dissemination of waste-related research. The internet-based "portal" approach was proved through a series of trials co-ordinated by AEA Technology, and again funded through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. Progress ceased after waste research funding was removed from the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme in 2003.
  • Wastenet is now supported by Defra as part of the external knowledge-brokering role set out in Waste Strategy 2007 and Waste and Resources Evidence Strategy 2007 -11.
  • Resources amounting to more than 3,000,000 pages of data and 15 or more databases are searched and indexed by Wastenet, and over 1,400 subject specific Internet links can be accessed from Wastenet pages. This enormous resource continues to grow as new, relevant content is regularly added.
  • Wastenet also accesses a growing digital archive of rare research papers which have been lost from the public domain over time. Wastenet returns these "lost" documents to public use in indexed, searchable form.
  • Feedback from Wastenet’s users is used to develop the content as an up-to-date and relevant resource, reflecting the expertise of the user community.

What is it for?

  • Wastenet provides access to relevant content through search and indexing software which is quick, effective, and easy to use.
  • Wastenet provides one-click search access to a huge range of resources, including content which does not appear on public pages and so is not visible to conventional Internet searching.
  • Wastenet’s rich results have valuable applications in many areas, such as:
    1. Discovering evidence to inform policy development.
    2. Retrieving information in response to Parliamentary, media and public questions.
    3. Research planning and scoping.
    4. Literature reviews in primary research.
    5. Sources in secondary research.
    6. Funding "gatekeeper" to avoid duplication of research.
    7. Recovery of documents "lost" from the public domain.
  • Wastenet is open to public users who can access and download content freely.
  • Registered users are encouraged to comment on Wastenet’s content and functionality and to recommend additional uploads and links. Registered users may personalise their Wastenet interface with bookmarked search results and favourite links.
  • Wastenet provides a high standard of accessibility for all users, conforming to the "AA" standard W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative. See our Accessibility Statement for more information.

How does it work?

  • Wastenet offers user-specified searching of indexed and uploaded documents, alongside deep searching of the internet using custom-built connectors that search inside selected websites targeted by Wastenet.
  • The user enters search terms and selects all words, any word or exact phrase searching from a drop-down list. One click of the Search button then uses the search terms to interrogate 18 online databases, and library catalogues in real time, as well as a regularly updated index of 3,000.000 documents and Internet pages.
  • Search results are offered in JavaScript and non-JavaScript presentation: the JavaScript version displays results progressively as they are retuned, on a dynamic page. The non-JavaScript version (compatible with browsers that do not support JavaScript) displays results by searched resource, allowing the user to switch between sources and for each resource to browse early results and then refresh the page at will to view further results that have been returned.

    Switch on/off JavaScript search results here if your browser does not support JavaScript, or if you prefer

Developed and powered by Solcara.

Switch off JavaScript search results here if your browser does not support JavaScript, or if you prefer