Expected to be launched in autumn 2021, the charter aims to be “fit for purpose” for the current decade and to help meet the needs of the public, the packaging value chain, and the four UK governments. It focuses on reporting what happens ‘beyond the bin’.
INCPEN joined forces with the Kent Resource Partnership (KRP), the Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) and the Surrey Environment Partnership (SEP) to develop the charter.
The initial development work by the four organisations will run parallel with the consultations run by the UK government and devolved administrations on extended producer responsibility (EPR), consistency of recycling collections, and deposit return systems (DRS), INCPEN says.
Paul Vanston, INCPEN CEO, said: “This Public Confidence in Recycling Charter aims to support the public’s increasing desire for information about what happens to recyclates beyond the bin. It’s also about celebrating when councils and the supply chain deliver great recycling results.
“INCPEN is extremely pleased to co-design the new Charter with the councils partnerships in Kent, Somerset and Surrey. These have long demonstrated their commitments to transparency of public information on recycling and proved themselves to be among the leaders.”
Engagement on testing and finalising the Charter with wider sets of stakeholders across the UK will take place this year, INCPEN says. INCPEN took over the development of the charter from the now-defunct Resource Association in December 2019 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Aims
The charter has five aims:
- To reinforce public confidence in recycling across the UK;
- To celebrate when councils and the supply chain deliver great recycling results;
- To embrace “system transparency” as opportunities to be open about supply chain challenges that need attention, especially as they relate to public confidence in recycling;
- To develop better collaboration across all parts of the UK packaging value chain, particularly with recycling achievements and public confidence in mind;
- To support delivery of the four governments’ ambitions on recycling and resource efficiency and help gain the best results from recycling systems where public confidence is a key factor.
While the initial development work on the charter involved the KRP, SWP and SEP, INCPEN intends to consult wider later in 2021 across the UK.
Waste partnerships
INCPEN is a sustainability organisation focused on research, policy and systems relating to packaging, whose membership comprises manufacturers, brands, retailers, recyclers and reprocessors.
“This charter will help strengthen the ‘contract’ we are forging with the public”
The KRP, SWP and SEP represent the interests of 30 councils and around 3.77million citizens, which is 6.3% of England’s population. The three partnerships collected 733,456 tonnes of household recyclates in 2019/20, representing 7.3% of all England’s total. The total household tonnage managed by the partnerships in 2019/20 across the three partnerships was 1,435,128 tonnes.
The SWP’s managing director Mickey Green said that around 98% of what his organisation had collected this year had stayed in the UK. “Being able to evidence that, and the carbon savings that go with it, is very powerful. This charter will help strengthen the ‘contract’ we are forging with the public and we look forward to working on it with colleagues from around the country,” he said.
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