Pre-treatment rules to bring commercial recycling boom

From October 30, all non-hazardous waste sent to landfill will have to be treated in some way and the legislation will primarily affect the non-municipal sector, which recycles less waste than local authorities. Nick Gregg, managing director for collections at Biffa Waste Services, told letsrecycle.com that the changes will drive up business recycling rates as well as diversify the range of material being collected.

This is because sorting counts as a means of pre-treating waste under the Landfill Regulations – which are part of EU Landfill Directive – so if a business sorts recyclables from its waste or sends it to a sorting facility, it is fulfilling its obligations.

Biffa is focusing strongly on encouraging its customers to source segregate recyclables and is now providing a collection service for cardboard to businesses, as well as “extensive coverage” for glass and office paper.

Mr Gregg said the industry was facing the same issues as when local authorities decided to diversify the range of material collected from householders at kerbside.

He explained: “The challenge now lies in collecting multi-products for business customers, so we have to offer more varied services. We are now going through the same cycle as we did with the municipal sector and for us, the good thing is that we have got experience in the municipal side, from the type of trucks used to how we should communicate.”

Mr Gregg's view is backed by Roger Morton, director of Axion Recycling, which co-ordinates the European PVC recycling initiative, Recovinyl, in the UK. Mr Morton said the regulations will act as a “driver” to encourage recycling of a range of waste streams, including waste plastic building products.

He added: “A simple and easy way for people to comply with the legislation will be to sort out PVC profiles, flooring, roofing and cables and ensure they are recycled.”

Local authority clients will not be affected as most municipal waste collected is sorted in some form – either at kerbside or at a treatment facility. However, the commercial sector is lagging behind and those businesses with no recycling system in place at present will have to pay to implement one.

Mr Gregg said: “The people this will impact most on will be those who get rid of most of their waste to landfill. They will have to pay for collection costs but in the longer term, with the way Landfill Tax is going, it will end up cheaper.”

Business recycling

A study carried out by research company Taylor Intelligence – a subsidiary of container company Taylor – at the end of September, found that 15% of small and medium sized businesses did not recycle. And, nearly half of those who said they did so were not using a private or local authority service. A third of those who recycle said they took their business waste home for recycling with the household waste, which is illegal.

Biffa's own estimates have found that 25% of the small to medium sized businesses on its books do not recycle. This material will have to be taken to a sorting facility although Biffa has said it will levy an additional charge for this because its aim is to get businesses separating material themselves to maintain the quality. It is hoped that by changing business attitudes towards waste disposal, it will also boost commercial recycling rates.

Mr Gregg explained: “Our biggest drive is to get people to pre-sort and we believed the best way is to get customers to do it themselves. I would hope the regulations will see a rise in recycling rates.

“I don't think there will be a huge difference in the first 12 to 18 months as it will take time for customers to settle into how they make their collections. But by then, recycling will be just a normal part of business life,” he continued.

Requirements

Under the Landfill Regulations which come into effect next week, all non-hazardous liquid waste will be banned and all non liquids must be treated.

Treatment is considered to have been carried out when waste has been through a three-point test.

It must

1. Undergo a physical, thermal, chemical or biological process – which can include sorting

2. Change the characteristics of the waste

3. And do so in order to

• Reduce its volume, or
• Reduce its hazardous nature, or
• Facilitate its handling, or
• Enhance recovery

The Environment Agency will be enforcing the regulations through measures such as site visits and by auditing the paper trail created when a business hands waste over to a disposal company and is issued with a waste transfer note.

For more on pre-treatment, read the views of Biffa's Peter Jones in letsrecycle.com's opinion section.