Minister reassures councils over commingling

Defra is keen to minimise the risk of councils being challenged over the quality of material they are collecting from householders, following the Judicial Review on commingling, resource minister Lord de Mauley has said.

The ministers comments came during a question and answer session after his keynote address at the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) conference in London yesterday (June 11).

Lord de Mauley was quizzed on a number of topics by delegates, including the effect of the Chinese Green Fence initiative on waste exports from the UK and landfill tax.

Steve Didsbury, head of waste at Bexley council, asked the minister whether, in the wake of the JR, councils who collect waste commingled are at risk of being challenged over the quality of material they collect.

In response, the minister said that his department is here to help to ensure that councils are meeting their requirements under the Waste Framework Directive.

He said: We have started work on guidance on what the requirement to collect separately actually means. We have got to ensure we have a common understanding of what TEEP means to minimise the risk of local authorities facing a challenge we are here to help ensure that risk is minimised.

During his speech the minister outlined his long term vision for the waste sector and pledged his support for the Environmental Services Associations circular economy report, published this week (see letsrecycle.com story).

Prevention

Meanwhile, he revealed that the results of the consultation on the proposed Waste Prevention Programme, which was launched in March, are due to be published shortly (see letsrecycle.com story).

He said: Waste is a huge and a hugely complex subject, it is easy to focus on the day to day issues and lose sight of the long term objectives. I have a long term vision where businesses use resources more effectively and substantially less waste is created in the first place, with the vast majority that is recycled or reused. In turn this will provide quality feedstocks to replace virgin materials.

Government can set the conditions by providing the policy framework, but a truly circular economy hinges on everyone playing their part. I was pleased to see the ESA showing leadership through their Going for Growth report which contains some interesting suggestions and I share the view that the circular economy will become a reality if the whole supply chain works together.

Design

The minister said a number of things need to happen before a circular economy can come to fruition, including better design of products to facilitate repair, recycling or reuse as well as a higher quality of recyclate offered to manufacturers so that they favour recovered over virgin materials.

He added: We must help the public maximise reuse and recycling, making avoiding contamination easier and replicating best practise from across the country without fining people who make honest mistakes. We also need the correct infrastructure across the population and the correct enforcement to create a level playing field.

On what the government is doing to support the industry, Lord de Mauley said that initiatives such as the Green Investment Bank, which has identified waste as a priority area for investment, will continue to drive innovation in the sector. He also pointed to work to regulate the quality of recycled material being produced in the UK, in the form of the MRF Code of Practice and the Quality Action Plan.

Following the address the minister also sought to allay fears that the Green Fence initiative currently being carried out by Chinese customs officials to reduce the amount of poor quality waste entering the country, was having a negative impact on the market in the UK.

He said: There is criticism that we are exporting too much but I dont think it is inherently bad because sometimes a circular economy is quite a big circle so it may be right that recyclate goes back to where goods are made. I am not under the impression that British recyclate has had a big problem in China.