The data, which is compiled as a requirement of the MRF Regulations, also shows that around 12% of the material delivered to MRFs in Wales amounted to non-target material throughout July to September 2015.
This means that the level of ‘target material’ received within loads has remained relatively stable across the four quarters for which data has been collected.
On the output side, the data suggests that the average percentage of target material in output streams is 91.1% or higher in England, and 89.7% or higher in Wales.
The figures, which were published on the WRAP Materials Facility portal, are the fourth set published under sampling and reporting obligations for MRF operators receiving more than 1,000 tonnes of mixed waste each year.
The regulations aim to bring ‘more transparency’ to the sorting and recycling of household waste by requiring MRF operators receiving more than 1,000 tonnes of mixed waste each year have been required to report the quality of input and output material sorted at facilities.
Reporting
There are thought to be more than 160 MRFs in England and Wales that meet this criteria, but in total only 95 (84 from England and 11 from Wales) have submitted data for the third quarter of 2015. This is likely to be of some concern with a number of facilities having been contacted by the Environment Agency to ensure that they are compliant. However, original estimates of the number of MRFs are thought to have been too high.
In its commentary accompanying the data, WRAP acknowledged that over the first year of the reporting requirements having been in effect, the number of compliant facilities in Wales has risen, from an initial nine, but in England this has dropped, with 90 facilities having reported during the first reporting period, down to 84 12 months on.
Scope
WRAP noted: “As a consequence, the Regulator contacted 120 sites that were identified as potentially falling within the scope of the regulations but who had not notified. The majority of responses showed how these facilities did not reach the threshold for notification. Facilities self-register to notify and it is anticipated that other facilities (such as new builds) will sign up in the future so the number of notified facilities is unlikely to remain static.”
Despite the MRF reporting regime now being in its fourth quarter, WRAP argues that it is still too soon to draw any major conclusions from the data.
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