A circular economy offers the antidote to traditional, dated ‘take, make, dispose’ methods of production and consumption, aiming instead to keep resources within the value chain for as long as possible and making it possible to fully recover materials at the end of their natural lifecycle. But while the UK has made positive progress towards embracing a zero-waste society, several key actions remain necessary to truly catalyse the shift from theory to practice.
When it comes to the waste and resources sector, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the roll-out of a national Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) system reform remain key topics of discussion – and for good reason. These policy measures have the potential to accelerate progress towards a more circular economy, but careful consideration of detail is needed to deliver truly powerful results.
When it comes to the subject of DRS, for example, we need to think far beyond initial collection volumes. We need the scheme administrator to ensure that material is retained within the packaging value chain and channelled back into UK (and European) businesses. This adheres to circular economy principals and will ensure that used aluminium is not just repurposed at the end of its lifecycle but repurposed within our own supply chain.
The circular opportunity of EPR is slightly more intricate. While policy progress is clearly being made, we still need to see statutory targets detailed for local authorities and financial repercussions outlined for those performing poorly. At the moment, councils are set to receive 80% of costs regardless of their recycling performance. What’s more, while there is clear guidance on what materials must be collected, there is little on how they should be collected.
If we’re not careful, this will lead to a reliance on comingled collections and a resulting decrease in material quality. As such, we need to impose definitive targets and communicate the consequences of falling short. This will drive higher collection volumes, but more importantly better quality recycling. The upshot will be an increase in green jobs and more targeted investment in equipment.
As we wait patiently for the introduction of EPR, we must also consider the important transition away from the PRN system. As we look towards the scheme’s phase-out, it’s imperative to establish a new funding recycling mechanism for recyclers. This is crucial to ensuring the continued viability of recycling operations across the UK, supporting increasing demand for recycling services and investing in innovative technology to promote sustainable practice.
On the whole, there’s a real concern that recycling performance in the UK is poor. To tackle this challenge head-on, the government has come up with regulatory collection schemes to encourage a measurable change in behaviour and inspire an uplift in collection volumes.
While it’s positive that we’ll be capturing more material, we need to think carefully about ensuring that our mechanisms improve quality alongside. It’s important to understand that recycling more is not the answer. We need to really focus on maximising quality, while supporting recyclers financially and legislatively to boot.
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