Speaking at the Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum Keynote Seminar on food waste yesterday (20 October), Chris Preston, deputy director for waste and recycling at Defra said that government’s non-mandatory approach to food waste collection ‘is working’.
His comments came in response to a call for government action to make food waste collection by councils in England a legal requirement – mirroring similar laws in Scotland.
But he added that government, food waste processors and councils can work together to make recycling systems easier, “not through compulsion” but by showing that food waste collection is “the right thing.” Mr Preston pointed to recent work carried out by WRAP on consistency in waste collections, which advocates collecting food waste separately at the kerbside.
He said: “While it is not our role to tell people what to do, we can ensure that the right framework is in place and we can provide leadership.”
Consistency
Commenting on Defra’s work with WRAP, Mr Preston said food waste collections are an “absolutely central element of this new consistency framework,” but that inconsistencies across different recycling systems are ‘confusing’ for consumers.
He said: “We need to do all we can – either through exaltation or through advice and guidance – to make those processes easier. So not through compulsion but actually just through ‘this is the right thing, it makes sense to do this.”
Mr Preston’s comments came after Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association chief executive Charlotte Morton had argued that mandatory food waste collections were necessary in England to increase the capture of material for treatment at AD facilities.
She said the move should be a “no-brainer” for England and would follow on from a mandatory collection requirement in Scotland, which AD plant operators have claimed has seen a boost in tonnages of material available for treatment. Mrs Morton added that support for the AD sector should be at the heart of the government’s new industrial strategy.
Voluntary approach
In a subsequent question and answer session Kerry McCarthy, the Bristol West MP and former Shadow Environment Secretary who has championed legislation to tackle food waste, also called for greater government intervention on the issue.
She said: “You could just do things so much quicker if you say ‘no we’re not going to see how this pans out in the market, we’re just going to get on and do it.’”
Mr Preston responded that local authorities are best-placed to decide on local services, adding: “I would say that the voluntary approach is working so far. We have seen an increase in food waste collections but I would like it to go further. But I also think it’s the case that ministers will intervene if the voluntary approach isn’t working.”
Mandatory collections
Commenting on the case for mandatory collections, Mrs Morton added: “All of our food waste operator members are starving in terms of food waste, and there is an awful lot out there that isn’t voluntarily coming out of councils and is not voluntarily moving over.”
She also called for funding support for Defra to encourage councils to move to separate collection of food waste, asking “What is holding back the decision for helping local authorities to have separate food waste collections?”
Mr Preston concluded that the government has worked together with the AD industry but that food waste collections come at a cost. He said: “You would need to look at the cost and benefits [of mandatory collections]. If we mandate, the government would then need to make the payment for that.
“But actually, it is fair to say that the AD industry has had some subsidies over time and we have worked with the industry very closely developing a strategy for improvement and growth in recent years.”
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