The proposed changes would see Defra attempt to bring the UK more into line with European Union thinking and lead to changes in the baseline projections and targets for landfill diversion in 2010, 2013 and 2020.
In the document, Defra stressed that local authorities “will not be required to manage the additional waste”.
As the department did not go into too much detail about the proposals and is planning to hold a consultation in the New Year with more information, some in the industry have opted to take a ‘wait-and-see' approach.
Response
However, councils representatives have reacted positively to the general principle.
Andrew Craig, principal policy officer at Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee, said that the proposal was “long overdue” and it would help ensure councils submitted uniform data when reporting waste arisings.
Mr Craig said the change to bring more commercial waste under the ‘municipal' definition would end the practice of some councils including trade waste material in municipal statistics and others not.
He told letsrecycle.com: “[At present] There are all sorts of inconsistencies. Even though the government's WasteDataFlow is supposed to create a uniform reporting system, it doesn't. Local authorities have used it differently and there has been variation over the years as to how local authorities have dealt with waste such as trade waste.”
Steve Lee, chief executive of the CIWM, added that the UK was an “anomaly” compared to other EU Member States, in that it recorded household and commercial municipal waste separately and the amendments would changes this.
But, Mr Lee claimed that the consultation was unlikely to offer many alternatives to what the European Commission wants Defra to do to fall in line with the other Member States.
He added: “We do not have a lot to go on and we are waiting for a consultation in the New Year. There is clear sense in the intention but I do not think Defra will have a lot of room to manoeuvre in the consultation.”
NAWDO
Steve Burdis, head of waste management at Dorset county council and chairman of NAWDO, welcomed the proposal and agreed with Defra claims that adding commercial waste would not mean more waste being sent to landfill.
“Generally commercial waste is largely more recycled in proportion to municipal household waste,” he said. “So, in that sense, the proposals may be quite right. But until we see the figures we cannot tell, although I welcome any review of where we are.”
The Local Government Association (LGA) responded to the Defra assurances about there not being a rise in waste being landfilled but said it would need to look in more detail at how the proposals would potentially affect local authorities.
A spokesman for the LGA said: “It is a positive thing that Defra has said it does not want local authorities to be disadvantaged by these proposals. We will be working with our members to make sure that their views are heard.”
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