Launching a new strategy paper today (1 Aug) ‘Resourceful: Delivering a Strong and Competitive UK Resource Economy’, the ESA has set out a series of policies it claims will drive efficiency in the sector – arguing that in a ‘changing world, the framework which governs the work we do must change with it’.
The paper is to be presented to Defra ministers following a call for policy proposals from the former minister for resources Rory Stewart.
Among the proposals ESA is calling for a major review of the producer responsibility system, which it claims could cover “transferring responsibility for household waste resources from local authorities to product supply chains”.
ESA claims that this would likely move costs of collection away from the public sector towards producers, adding: “If applied to the whole of the domestic waste stream, this would save average council tax payers up to £250 per annum. In the longer run, the improved incentives to design products and packaging for recyclability, as well as the strengthened recycling markets that would result, would drive increased resource efficiency and improve the productivity of the UK.”
Producer responsibility
Whilst not outlining specific proposals as to how a revamped producer responsibility regime, covering a wider range of materials, could operate in practice, the waste sector trade body has commissioned consultancy firm Perchards, alongside 360 Environmental, to assess the existing producer compliance regime for packaging waste, and how this could be extended. Findings are expected to be released in September.
Other priorities identified in the paper include supporting reprocessing activities, driving inefficiency out of the waste chain, and tackling waste crime. ESA has identified the four critical areas of action as:
- Transferring resource ownership from the public sector to product supply chains
- Building resilient recycling and recovery markets
- Realising economies of scale
- Driving waste crime out of the sector
The paper has been drawn up by the trade body in response to a call for policy suggestions from the then resources minister Rory Stewart, who opened the door for policy discussions at the start of the year (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, despite the minister’s subsequent departure from Defra (see letsrecycle.com story), Jacob Hayler, executive director at ESA said he remains optimistic that the Department will continue to be open for policy discussion.
And, indications coming from Defra in recent weeks have already suggested that officials are examining options for extended producer responsibility schemes for a wider range of product lines and materials (see letsrecycle.com story).
Defra
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Mr Hayler said: “It is very early days with the new ministerial team. We very much hope that momentum will be maintained because we think that there is a very objective and pragmatic reason for examining producer responsibility.
“In the short term there is the opportunity to transfer some of the costs away from the public sector, and in the longer term we think it could be designed to lower cost as a whole for everyone.”
Jacob Hayler
ESA
“In the short term there is the opportunity to transfer some of the costs away from the public sector, and in the longer term we think it could be designed to lower cost as a whole for everyone. We think the rationale is good and we would hope that momentum would be maintained.”
Mr Hayler added that the proposals were drawn up after ESA convened a working group to examine potential policy options, which had identified ‘two major inefficiencies’ within current operational practices.
“One is a very fragmented supply chain, it is very disjointed both on a local authority side where there is a multitude of different councils and two tier authorities, but also on the commercial side where there is a lack of scale and a lot of small scale provision and a lot of duplication.
“Second is around waste crime, we’ve been raising this for a number of years but still regulation is not effective at stopping endemic waste crime activity. That is stopping investment and stopping the industry from achieving economies of scale in building a professional and efficient industry of the future.”
‘Radical’
Mr Hayler added that following discussions with Mr Stewart on an ‘early version’ of the proposals outlined by ESA today, the minister had expressed an appetite for “something quite radical, a new approach to producer responsibility and applying it more broadly across different parts of the waste stream.”
On potential opposition to any proposal to move control of waste services away from local authorities, Mr Hayler said: “There are two big potential constituencies that might be resistant to change. One of those is on the local government side, where members within district councils might be worried about loss of sovereignty but from early discussions we’ve had with the local government sector, they’ve seemed very receptive to these sorts of proposals. As long as there role within this system can be clarified.
“Another is from producers who might be concerned about additional costs being passed onto them. We think the benefits of the new approach in terms of certainty and in terms of costs – if you look at the PRN system there is huge variability in terms of cost – so we think there would be real benefits that would more than offset those additional costs. We’ve had early conversations with some producers and we have received quite positive engagement.”
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