Defra has claimed that "good progress" has been made towards the goals of its 2007 Waste Strategy - but acknowledged that higher fuel and food prices might begin to impact on recycling and waste levels.

In its 'Waste Strategy Annual Progress Report', published today (July 10), the Department stated that headway had been made in working towards the national performance indicators outlined in the Strategy, with nine moving in the desired direction, and just two -levels of fly-tipping and hazardous waste arisings - fairing badly.

And, the report also indicated that action had been undertaken towards almost all of the 94 commitments detailed in the Strategy.

However, the study also offers one of the first explicit acknowledgements from the Department that increasing commodity prices could hit the waste and recycling sector, stating that: "Relatively high prices for a range of commodities including food and fuel may impact on levels of waste and recycling."

"The Government will be monitoring any trends closely as well as working with business to ensure that benefits of improved waste management and resource efficiency can assist business in coping with commodity prices," it added.

The fast-rising price of fuel has already begun to impact on the waste management industry, with concerns that council budgets and waste companies' contractual agreements will not adequately cover the increasing cost of both petrol and diesel.

And, commenting on the fuel price rises, waste and recycling minister Joan Ruddock said: "As fuel prices rise, commodities become scarcer, and families are feeling the pinch, it becomes ever more important for businesses to use resources more efficiently throughout the supply chain, those that don't will miss out on potential savings, as well as big opportunities for growth."

Roadmaps

The publication of the progress report was accompanied by a similar review of Sustainable Products and Materials, outlining action that has been taken in increasing the sustainability of products and materials during their production, use and disposal.

This includes the introduction of pilot Product Roadmaps for groups including food, electrical appliance and textiles, with the second Defra Sustainable Clothing Roadmap meeting being held in March (see letsrecycle.com story).

At the same time the report highlights the impact of the Milk Roadmap, which was produced by a dairy industry taskforce and includes a requirement for half of all milk packaging to be made from recycled materials by 2020.

Commercial waste

The issue of commercial and industrial waste is particularly evident within the Waste Strategy progress report, which confirms that, following stakeholder discussions, Defra will be taking a sectoral approach towards dealing with the sector.

It stated: "Overall targets for all commercial and industrial waste grouped together are felt to be less helpful, especially because of the diversity of this waste stream and because combined targets based on weight may underplay the different environmental impacts of different kinds of waste."

"Defra has already taken steps to develop sectoral approaches, especially in relation to waste from the construction, food, packaging and retail sectors; this will be taken further over the coming years," it added.

And, it also acknowledged that there is "scope for improvement" in non-municipal waste, referring to "data gaps" and the need to supplement information from permitted sites with analysis and other data sources.

"Defra will take further as priority the development of better statistics on non-municipal waste, noting that this will depend in part on inputs from the commercial sector," it said.

Other issues highlighted within the progress report include the impact of the revised Waste Framework Directive, the need to provide waste treatment infrastructure, developing new packaging solutions and implementing the '3R Action Plan' - reduce, reuse and recycle.

It also emphasises the importance of resolving the issue of what is and isn't municipal waste, following consultation with local authorities that was launched last July (see letsrecycle.com story).

The progress report explains that: "In light of these responses, the Government has decided to take forward changes to clarify that municipal waste is that which is collected by or on behalf of local authorities."