The Environment Agency is in the process of issuing guidance to Waste Disposal Authorities clarifying that they should report details of the final destination of the waste
Jane Kennedy
Earlier this year, the issue of where household waste goes dominated the headlines after a programme entitled ‘Tonight: A rubbish service' claimed that 46 out of 300 councils quizzed had no idea where their recyclables were sent for sorting – with some UK recyclables then uncovered at a landfill site in India (see letsrecycle.com story).
The issue prompted calls by the Agency for councils to improve the quality of the recyclables they collect and pleas by council leaders for the government to force firms to disclose where their materials were sent.
As a result of the debate, a motion was proposed in Wales earlier this year to force Welsh councils to reveal where their recyables are sent (see letsrecycle.com story).
And, this week environment minister Jane Kennedy said that the Agency was producing guidance to explain that reporting the destination of waste was a reporting requirement for English waste disposal authorities.
The revelation came in a parliamentary written answer to a question posed by Eric Pickles MP, shadow secretary of state for communities and local government, who asked if the Agency would take steps to increase transparency of the final destination of materials once they were transferred to waste disposal companies.
Ms Kennedy said: “The Environment Agency is in the process of issuing guidance to Waste Disposal Authorities (WDA) clarifying that they should report details of the final destination of the waste (ie the name and address of the final destination facility in the UK) in their existing quarterly WasteDataFlow return. A number of WDAs are already providing comprehensive final destination details.”
Commenting on the move, a spokeswoman for the Environment Agency confirmed that the Agency would be issuing guidance to remind WDAs of “what is required under LATS reporting obligations re final destination of waste in the UK”.
The guidance is expected to be issued in the next fortnight.
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