The Recycling Registration Service, which has just begun a pilot phase, is a voluntary code of practice that certifies operators of materials recycling facilities – and tracks material being exported for reprocessing.
– Mike Walker, ESA
The full scheme is to be launched by the waste industry trade association later this year, and will be available for ESA members and non-members alike.
But, speaking at a London Remade local authority network event in London yesterday, ESA director of policy Mike Walker was forced onto the defensive, as audience members demanded to know why the scheme does not set a quality standard for sorted material.
Specifications
Responding to a question from Cllr Brian Haley of the London borough of Haringey, Mr Walker said: “We are working with existing commercial specifications rather than setting new standards. The end user of the material sets the specifications for its quality – if a standard required material to be higher or lower in quality than the specification needed by the market, there would be no guarantee it would be recycled.”
Mr Walker explained that the scheme would see sorting plants subject to an annual check by independent, fully-accredited auditors to ensure processed material meets commercial specifications.
He said that unlike the delayed PAS 105 standard (see letsrecycle.com story), the Recycling Registration Scheme is flexible enough to deal with any materials – from paper and plastics to metals.
Confidence
He said: “This is not about setting a standard. Even if we are meeting a standard, there's still no guarantee the material will be recycled. This is about providing public confidence in recycling – making sure that when material is sent abroad, it is recycled.”
The ESA director of policy said the growth in recycling rates – particularly for paper – has seen the UK becoming dependent on exporting material. But, he said: “There has been some bad practice.”
The Recycling Registration Scheme requires operators of MRFs to comply with industry best practice, meet European “green list” conditions for exporting sorted material, and must see receiving companies also complying with best practice.
Companies exporting their material via brokers are also to be included within the scheme.
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Each container of sorted waste leaving a certified MRF must have its auditory documentation attached, so it can be tracked through to its reprocessing stage.
The scheme's trial phase is working with around a dozen facilities, making sure that both the operators' and auditors' requirements are in order before the full scheme is launched.
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