LGA warns of commingling confusion

Local authorities have warned that government correspondence over when commingled collections are permitted could cause confusion amongst councils reviewing their recycling services.

The comments come in response to a letter sent last week on behalf of the then resources minister Lord de Mauley over the amended regulations covering local authority waste collection systems which are due to come into force in 2015 (see letsrecycle.com story).

In the letter, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) sought to remind councils that commingled collections of dry recyclables will not be permissible in all circumstances and to ensure that waste streams are kept separate to provide high quality recyclables.

But in a letter to environment minister Owen Paterson, the Local Government Association (LGA) the body representing councils across the UK said that the correspondence was an unhelpful contribution to the debate adding that it is keen to see clear and concise statutory guidance published.

Writing last week, councillor Mike Jones, chair of the LGAs environment and housing board, said: The outcome of the Judicial Review demonstrated that the most sensible approach, and indeed the most effective approach to mitigating the risk of legal challenge is to rely directly on the words of the Waste Framework Directive itself. Attempts to add commentary, views or gloss to this have been proved in the JR case increase confusion and risk and I believe should be avoided as far as possible.

Guidance

Mr Jones went on to explain that the letter does not have the weight of statutory guidance and said that legally it would be unsafe for councils to allow it to guide future decisions.

He added: We are keen to continue the constructive work that has to date been taking place between our two organisations to develop statutory guidance on this issue that is clear and concise. The most important thing is having in place systems that work locally, encourage recycling and are easy for people to use. It is therefore regrettable that the published correspondence, which has no legal force or value, is now causing confusion across the sector.

Quality

Elsewhere, Defras letter to local authorities has been welcomed by reprocessors including DS Smith Recycling, which claims that it could help drive up the quality of recycled material produced in the UK.

The companys European sales & purchasing director Jim Malone, said that the correspondence provided clear guidance on the regulations.

He said: This is great news as I still have concerns over the quality of recyclate I receive for reprocessing with contamination levels far too high. We need to focus on collecting materials separately, where possible, to ensure we can retain the highest value from this vital resource.

This is a sensible stance from Defra and we fully support the content of the letter and the interpretation of the Waste Framework Directive.