The advice comes in a letter by Lord de Mauley in which he reminds local authorities of the effect of the Waste (England and Wales) (Amendments) Regulations 2012. The Minister reminds councils that commingled collections of dry recyclables will not be permissible in all circumstances and that reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that waste streams are kept separate from each other to provide a high quality recyclables.
In the letter Lord de Mauley acknowledges that many local authorities are looking at their arrangements for the collection and disposal of waste and that good work has been undertaken to improve the amount of material collected but this has not been accompanied by an increase in quality. He said a push is needed on all fronts to drive up quantity and quality of recycling while keeping costs down.
Lord de Mauley said to build up local and rural economies domestic glass and paper industries need to be able to rely on a consistent supply of good quality materials produced, without resorting to imports. Local authorities will have an important role to play in achieving this, he adds, and as such Defra is hoping to publish new regulations this winter requiring information about the quality of recyclables produced by materials recycling facilities (MRFs).
Letter extract
Below letsrecycle.com has reproduced an extract from the letter by Lord de Mauley. It states:
The revised Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) in effect requires member states to set up separate collection where necessary and practicable. Supporting European Commission guidance was published in June 2012.
The Government and Welsh Government transposed these requirements through the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, as amended by the Waste (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2012.
It appears that some local authorities may be taking the view that co-mingled collections of paper, glass, plastic and metal waste streams will remain permissible in all circumstances after 1st January 2015. I therefore thought it would be helpful now to remind local authorities of the effect of the Regulations.
From 1st January 2015 an establishment or undertaking which collects waste paper, metal, plastic or glass must do so by way of separate collection. These requirements apply where separate collection:
(a) is necessary, in effect, to provide high quality recyclates, and
(b) is technically, environmentally and economically practicable.
Where waste paper, metal, plastic or glass has been collected separately all reasonable steps must be taken to keep that stream separate from other waste streams wherever this is necessary to provide high quality recyclates.
It is clear that the intention is that these requirements should represent a high hurdle. I am aware that co-mingled metal and plastic are relatively easy to separate at a MRF. However, at present many of our existing MRFs struggle to keep glass shards out of the paper stream. In addition many MRFs produce low quality mixed glass which needs further sorting and can be uneconomic to re-smelt. I look to local authorities actively to address these problems, by the effective implementation of the new regulations and by tackling problems with operating practices.
Separate collection does not of course mean that each household will need more bins. For example, many areas have kerbside sort systems where materials are sorted before being loaded into the waste collection vehicle. The WRAP website is a useful source of help.
Any local authorities considering new collection or disposal plans should take care to ensure that they are placing themselves in a position to fulfil their legal duties from 2015. This is particularly important for local authorities who may be considering moving away from separate collection, or including glass within a co-mingled stream. Local authorities should consult their own lawyers as necessary, and should keep a clear audit trail given the potential for legal challenge.
I am aware that this is a challenging time for local government as budgets reduce and expectations increase. I would urge all local authorities to work more closely with each other to sharpen procurement practices and share both facilities and services where possible.
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