Defra told letsrecycle.com it had commissioned consultancy Oakdene Hollins to undertake the study in light of rising energy costs and to understand more about how the price rises will impact the sector.
The findings of the study will feed into broader government work on energy costs and support, Defra says.
The study is already underway and will last around four months. It will use a range of publicly available data, as well as interviews with waste sector representatives and local authorities.
The first stage of the project has seen Oakdene Hollins reach out to stakeholders via a survey to identify where they see the key impacts.
Defra says it will publish the resulting report on its research and development website, though it will appear as an Oakdene Hollins report, at a date which is yet to be confirmed.
Rising costs
The price of fuel is reported to have risen for a variety of factors, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last June, representatives from across the sector including the Environmental Services Association and the Recycle Association told letsrecycle.com said the rising cost of fuel was hitting operations and warned the burden could be passed on to consumers (see letsrecycle.com story).
Each representative said the situation was exacerbated by the government withdrawing the sector’s access to low-taxed red diesel last April (see letsrecycle.com story).
One of the sector’s major concerns is how quickly alternative electric-powered equipment and more efficient diesel machines can be developed. Within the sector, here are several ongoing trials of electric plant and some businesses have used electric grabs for a while. However, like-for-like alternatives for equipment such as landfill compactors, dozers and shovels do not yet exist.
Subscribe for free