Government decides against landfill ban for wood

It is not the right time to introduce a restriction on sending waste wood to landfill, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Following a call for evidence last year (see letsrecycle.com story), in which a number of concerns were raised by industry over the practicalities and costs of introducing a restriction, the Department said yesterday (February 14) that it would not be pursuing the measure.

The revelation came in an analysis document which was published alongside a full summary of responses.

Defra says in the document: Our analysis suggests that wood waste to landfill is likely to continue to decline without further Government intervention. Furthermore a restriction in this present economic climate is likely to impose additional costs on businesses, especially SMEs.

Therefore we do not believe that this is the right time to introduce a restriction on wood waste to landfill. We will review and monitor the wood waste area closely and in addition we plan to carry out work to address the remaining gaps in our evidence knowledge base, alongside the action underway by the Environment Agency (EA) and WRAP which will help to manage wood waste.

Responses

A total of 37 responses were received to the call for evidence in total, with most responses coming from wood trade associations and local authority bodies, alongside other trade associations, environmental interest groups, waste management companies and others with an interest in waste wood.

Suggested benefits to introducing a restriction included: improved collection and sorting infrastructure; legal certainty which could drive innovation and investment in infrastructure; more producer responsibility leading to less waste and greater diversion of wood waste from landfill.

However, a number of concerns were raised by respondents. Many said that long lead-in times of five to ten years would be necessary to allow energy-from-waste, collection and sorting infrastructure to develop. Related was the need to progress identification of wood waste treatments which impact on end markets.

Practical difficulties, such as enforcement, storage capacity, space for segregation and an increase in costs were also mentioned. The potential burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the current time was also a concern, as well as the potential for any restrictions to lead to more fly-tipping.

Wood Recyclers’ Association

Defra stressed that the main wood trade association, the Wood Recyclers Association, was not supportive of a restriction at the present time (see letsrecycle.com story) and instead supported an increase in landfill tax beyond 2014 something which was a common theme across several responses.

The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) did also not think there was a need to introduce landfill restrictions as it said the other drivers already in place were effective,. Meanwhile, the Environmental Services Association suggested that government action would be better focussed elsewhere. For instance, ensuring the waste hierarchy regulations are enforced and complied with.

Local authority bodies were not in support of a restriction as they had concerns about enforcement, collection, sorting capability and administrative burden. Some suggested a ban on sending biodegradable waste to landfill as an alternative.

More supportive of a restriction were energy and timber trade organisations, alongside construction and demolition organisations. However they said they would need extensive lead-in time before anything was introduced and raised concerns over additional costs.