Cartons could be added to DRS
The recycling minister Jo Churchill has “refused to rule out” adding cartons to the list of materials in-scope of the deposit return scheme (DRS).
Ms Churchill was responding to a question from Steve Baker MP in parliament on Thursday (27 January).
Mr Baker asked if the minister would meet carton manufacturer Tetra Pak, based in his Wycombe constituency, to discuss the feasibility of the onward processing of cartons, “which I believe would make that inclusion a practical possibility”.
In response, Ms Churchill said her department will “shortly announce” further details of a DRS, and said the possibility of including cartons has not been ruled out.
Ms Churchill said: “We will announce more information on the deposit return scheme shortly. I would, of course, be happy to meet his constituent for further discussions.
“I do not think we should rule anything out, but nor am I making any promises.”
This was welcomed by Tetra Pak, who have been calling for cartons to be included throughout.
OEP outlines enforcement approach
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has set out its proposed approach to how it will be holding government and public authorities to account.
Established by the Environment Act, the OEP replaces the European Commission in holding the government to account on environmental targets.
The consultation was opened on 28 January and will run until 22 march.
Waste was mentioned three times in the document, mainly on how it will hold Defra to account on its target for waste reduction.
On this, the OEP said it will “critically assess, report, and advise on the development and delivery of these national measures, holding government to account for its ambition, progress and delivery”.
More generally, the consultation document said the OEP’s enforcement functions encompass a range of powers and duties including receiving and assessing complaints, conducting investigations and commencing legal proceedings.
RiverRidge tracks down owner of lost jewellery
Northern Irish waste management company RiverRidge helped to reunite a Scottish tourist with her jewellery collection, after it was mistakenly disposed of in a recycling bin.
Kathleen McKimmon and husband Eric accidentally put their jewellery collection, which included six necklaces, three rings and a charm bracelet into the bin, while visiting Belfast from Fife.
After realising later that day her jewellery collection was missing, they contacted RiverRidge to see what could be organised.
The bin had been collected and transported to the company’s materials recovery facility (MRF) in Mallusk.
Senior commercial manager at RiverRidge Pamela Jordan said: “When I received Kathleen’s email on Monday morning, I knew how distressing this must have been for her.
“However, given the nature of our business and the large amount of waste we collect, we were unsure about what the outcome would be.
“We always try to accommodate as best we can though, and after contacting our operations manager at the Mallusk facility, Danny McErlain, the team got to work – literally on their hands and knees seeing if any of the jewellery could be recovered.”
The team at the MRF found the jewellery, which was returned to the couple as they were returning home.
RDF body calls for end to Scandinavian waste taxes
The RDF Industry Group has called on Norway and Sweden to end their respective taxes on incineration.
As of 1st January 2022, a mandatory waste incineration tax of NOK192 (£16) has been in place in Norway, while Sweden introduced a 75Kr (£7) per tonne tax in 2020.
The RDF Industry Group has called on the Scandinavian countries to drop the tax, citing studies which show them to be ineffective.
The group pointed to a study by the Swedish Tax Agency.
“One of the key drivers for introducing the tax was to increase recycling rates in the country and also in countries which send waste to be incinerated in Sweden,” the RDF Industry Group explained.
It added: “The evaluation has found that the impact on increasing recycling rates has been negligible in the short-term in Sweden, and has found no evidence of an increase in recycling rates in exporting countries either.”
Andy Jones, chair of the RDF Industry Group and managing director at Totus Environmental, said: “It’s hard to believe the Norwegian Government revived the incineration tax after not only voting it down in its parliament earlier in the year, but weeks after a report was published by the Swedish Tax Agency stating its tax has been ineffective in achieving its goals.
“These mechanisms are ineffective and prevent wider EU progress towards reducing waste sent to landfill, so we hope national governments will instead turn their attention towards supporting landfill reduction across Europe.”
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