Lord Taylor interview exclusive

1) How are you finding your role as recycling minister and when did you first become interested in waste and recycling?

I have been in my role almost a year ten months. Im enjoying it. When I was in opposition I had a bit to do with waste as I was involved with a parliamentary group the APSRG. (co-chair) So I have a bit of training and I only got into it because a friend of mine at that time in the Commons and now in the Lords wanted to get me more engaged in backbench activity. It gave me access to some of the individuals in the industry and taught me about this area which is quite complex.

In terms of my business when I was in business the company I was involved with had a packaging waste obligation so I got to know about those aspects and the PRN system. We had a strategy anyway to recycle as much as we could. I was working for the family flower bulb business in Lincolnshire. [Taylors Bulbs] I worked for the business for my whole life time. It was only when I became a member of the government that I resigned from the business.

2) There is a target for sending 70% of waste at the forthcoming Olympics for recycling, composting and reuse and zero waste to landfill. Do you hope the Games will inspire other businesses and organisations to recycle more?

I think the great thing about the Olympics is that it is emblematic of so many things and even the construction has been based on sustainability and reducing the environmental impacts of the development of what was quite a heavily contaminated site. I think that has been a real success. I think big construction companies have learnt a lot from it and it is ambitious in its target on recycling and reuse.

We had this marvellous opportunity to go to Eco Plastics at Hemswell in Lincolnshire where I opened their recycling facility for Coca Cola and the idea that bottles at the Olympics are reprocessed and filled again within six weeks is a great example of modern, closed loop recycling.

3) Do you think the MRF can produce the same quality as kerbside sorting? Are you confident that the revised Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, when published, will maintain the flexibility for councils to choose their own collection systems without fear of legal challenge?

I think they [MRFs] are going to have to aim to do so and I think thats what the Code of Practice will be seeking to achieve. I think the technology in MRFs will be improving all the time. I have been going around and looking at different plants and they are becoming more complex and showing they are becoming capable of sorting materials better. I dont want to add to the arguments under the JR as I dont think that is appropriate but I think we will see increased investment in MRFs in the UK. It is an area where ministers dont get involved. It is important that we dont do anything prejudicial.

[On issue of flexibility] That is our current position. It is very much part of this governments strategy and its relationship with local authorities to give them discretion on how they deal with what the government expects from them and waste collection is one of them and indeed waste disposal. We are anxious that local authorities should have a mind to the way in which they can work together and that is why I am keen on those partnerships which have been set up, such as the Somerset Waste Partnership. There are several examples of local authorities joining together and having a common strategy for dealing with waste and it means that they can adapt to local conditions but can also get best value as well. Rather than a problem waste should be seen as an opportunity to create value from a resource.

[On MRF code, which is on schedule for consultation in August] I see that as being really important on the quality front as I dont thing we are going to get the best out of recycled waste unless we can make sure we are building quality into it.

4) Do householders and businesses yet recognise the importance of waste as a resource?

I think some of this is historic as people wanted to get it out of the way. It is only recently that people have been preparing to acknowledge that there is value in things we no longer need. Some of the way that this can be stimulated is by consumers, customers and householders feeling they are part of this process and benefit. I think feedback is really important. I like the idea that wastecompanies feel they have a responsibility to inform their suppliers, the householders and I think that it applies to business and commercial waste too but there it is easier to get over as there is a direct relationship.

The current economic climate has certainly put an increased focus on it [resource efficiency] but I suspect it will become a message that becomes increasingly persistent even when this period of economic pressure is over. There are too many drivers for sustainable growth and this has to be the way the country moves.

5) Are you concernedthat Scotland and Wales are taking more of a lead on recycling and waste management than England as some in the sector have suggested? Is England taking a different approach?

No. Im very pleased that they are driving some of those issues forward as they are tackling some issues which are important through the UK but it is clearly much easier to do so within the context of a relatively small part of the UK. We certainly are learning and will learn a lot from the way they are initiating some of these policies but it is not masking the fact that England has a greater scale to many of the issues.

In England we are not seeking to define tight parameters with regards to how we deal with waste and yet of course we recognise the important of providing a lead and that is really what the waste plan is about which will be published in April 2013. [National Waste Management Plan for England which sets out what government is doing and is a requirement of the EU rWFD.

I think we have taken the lead on launching the Business Waste Commitment, on food waste we have been very active and recently we have launched the Hospitality and Food Service Agreement. Now we are looking at reuse of textiles and clothing and these are all areas where we are working with industry and the waste companies to maximise activity at the upper ends of the hierarchy all the time. So that is good. We are looking to get timber out of landfill because currently an awful lot of waste timber is literally waste and that cant continue any longer and we expect to issue a call for evidence in late July. That is something else we are developing. We know about Courtauld and a whole raft of voluntary agreements.

6) You have a very broad portfolio, which covers areas ranging from been health to chemicals and dangerous dogs. How does your waste and recycling brief fit into this?

Waste and recycling gets a lot of my time. When people ask what I do I say waste first because it is a very big area. Im well supported by the waste team as well.

7) Is there anything you would like to discuss?

The thing I have got energisedwith as I know a lot of people in the business is the opportunities there are for food waste redistribution. It started with a visit to Fareshare and then Foodcycle. Since then I have taken colleagues to see it all. We had a summit with industry and retailers a fortnight ago and I think there is huge potential to reduce the amount of food waste and do something thats really worthwhile.

[On issue of whether there are any legal barriers for retailer in distributing food waste] We have investigated this and so have the retailers and they have come to the conclusion that provided they exercise due care there is no risk of legal challenge. There was some talk of the need for a Good Samaritan Act to provde some legal protection for people doing good work but apparently it is not necessary under British law. We are planning to publicise it a bit with the FSA. That came out as a result of the summit.

At the summit there was not a single supermarket that was not prepared to give it a go and I have sought to engage some of my friends in fresh food wholesale supply to see what food waste they are throwing away. Food that is wholesale but surplus to that days orders. Most of them [retailers] were prepared to commit on the day.

I didnt know what the situation was until I saw what was being done and realised the potential. Tristan Stewart [?] has written a book about it and it has cross-party support.

8) What do you like doing in your spare time?

I enjoy reading and the most indulgent vice I have is I go to the opera. I read a book a day on holiday. I live in Holbeach. I was born in Holbeach and live in the house I was brought up in.