The warning came in a report on Waste management in England, compiled by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which took evidence from industry stakeholders including waste firm SITA, the Welsh Government and the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
The Committee has also recommended implementing a ban on sending any recyclable material to landfill by 2025 as well as finding ways to increase the amount of food waste that is diverted from landfill.
MPs claimed that England could learn from the ‘successful approach’ taken in neighbouring Wales, where recycling rates have risen above 50%, compared to the 43.2% achieved by England in 2012/13.
In November 2013, shortly after being handed the waste brief within the Department, minister Dan Rogerson wrote to stakeholders to reveal that Defra would reduce its activities within the sector and slash funding for local authorities (see letsrecycle.com story).
Communications
The decision was criticised by MPs in today’s (October 22) report, which also called on Defra to provide more support for local authorities around communications as well as introducing statutory recycling targets for councils.
Launching the report, committee chair Anne Mackintosh, the Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, said: “Defra ‘stepped back’ from waste management at a time when we need both a more ambitious approach to waste management and stronger government leadership to drive up static recycling rates in England and make better use of energy recovery options such as local heating for homes. Ministers must now show that waste policy remains an important priority.”
In the report, MPs have also recommended that Defra should encourage learning from best practice to help local authorities improve services in their areas, but stopped short of recommending a ‘one-size-fits-all’ system to be implemented across the country. The Committee also call for an increase in funding for WRAP.
End destinations
Elsewhere, MPs also recommended making it a requirement for councils to report where their material are recycled. This was among the proposals welcomed by, Ray Georgeson, chief executive of the reprocessing sector trade body the Resource Association, who called for support from Defra for the organisation’s End Destinations Charter.
He said: “We welcome the Committee’s acknowledgement that much more needs to be done to communicate regularly and effectively with the public to raise recycling rates, and to address public confidence in the recycling process and understanding of where recycling goes.
“Our End Destination of Recycling Charter has played a role, but we wholeheartedly welcome the Committee’s recommendation that statutory reporting of end destination is required. At the very least, we invite Defra Ministers to echo the response of officials in their evidence by extending greater public support to the End Destination Charter and we extend an open invitation to Dan Rogerson to meet with us and Charter signatories to explore ways of extending the reach of the Charter.”
Support
Waste sector trade body the Environmental Services Association has also welcomed the findings of the report.
ESA economist Jacob Hayler, said: “There is a growing consensus that England could struggle to meet its household recycling targets. The government must listen to the Committee before it’s too late and support local authorities in delivering the services we need to drive up recycling rates across the country.
“At the same time, we shouldn’t overlook the need to invest in more domestic energy recovery jobs and infrastructure. Far too much waste still goes either to landfill or overseas. We should be exploiting this valuable energy resource to light and heat our homes and businesses.”
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