The cross-party Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) wrote to the environment secretary, Dr Thérèse Coffey, yesterday (24 November) again calling for cartons to be included in any future DRS.
The EAC’s chair, Philip Dunne, says in his letter that establishing an ‘all-in’ approach to the DRS including cartons would boost efforts to reach net zero and create a circular economy.
He says including cartons from the outset would avoid a “costly later addition of further packaging”.
The EAC, which audits government departments’ performance against sustainable development and environmental protection targets, conducted an inquiry into the DRS in 2021.
When the inquiry closed in May 2021, the EAC recommended that cartons should be part of any scheme introduced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from the outset, as to amend it would be “more costly” (see letsrecycle.com story).
In yesterday’s letter, Mr Dunne writes: “The committee remains of the view that the department should be ambitious, by creating an ‘all-in’ DRS that includes as wide a range of materials as possible, including carton packages.
“Limiting the scope of the DRS when it is initially introduced would be a missed opportunity, undermining collective efforts to reach net zero and to create a circular economy.”
The EAC is to meet with recycling minister Rebecca Pow next week, where it hopes to learn more about the “current status” of the DRS.
Consultation
A Defra spokesperson told letsrecycle.com they “do not currently have plans to include cartons in a DRS”.
Defra consulted on consistency in recycling in 2019 and says there was overall support for the inclusion on cartons as part of kerbside collections.
Defra consulted on consistency in household and business recycling in England again in 2021 and proposed to include cartons for collections as part of the plastic recyclable waste stream.
It says the government’s much-delayed response to the consistency consultation, “to be published shortly”, will confirm their approach to the collection of cartons at kerbside.
The spokesperson said: “We are committed to a deposit return scheme that boosts recycling and clamps down on plastic pollution and litter.
“We have consulted on detailed proposals with industry about how this could operate, including the materials in scope and the size of qualifying containers. We will publish our response to the consultation shortly.”
Tetra Pak
In his letter, Mr Dunne says cartons are “fully recyclable” and the “necessary infrastructure” exists in the UK for the onward processing of packaging as part of a DRS.
“Inclusion in the scheme, and the increased collection rates that would follow, would appear to provide a commercial basis for the industry to increase its investment in carton recycling facilities in the UK,” he writes.
Mr Dunne adds that packaging manufacturer Tetra Pak “strongly supports” the inclusion of cartons in the DRS from the outset.
Mr Dunne says Tetra Pak pointed out during the inquiry that carton packages are already successfully included in DRS systems around the world, including in Canada and in Australia, where the systems have supported an increase in collection rates to 75% and 70% respectively.
He writes: “I understand that while the company is willing to invest in a dedicated poly-aluminium recycling plant in the UK, the investment is pending due to the lack of clarity around legislative requirements on beverage carton collection.”
DRS
Mr Dunne also wrote to Dr Coffey earlier in the week raising concerns about a “culture of delay” holding up progress on policies at Defra (see letsrecycle.com story).
Defra was due to issue a full government response to its consultation on the DRS by early 2022 but this is yet to appear.
All four UK nations have announced that they will introduce a DRS for beverage containers by 2025, with the Scottish scheme set to launch next year.
Scotland and Wales will include aluminium, glass, plastic and steel containers in their DRS systems, but England and Northern Ireland will exclude glass.
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