The call came in response to the Commission's consultation Towards a Thematic Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling of Waste, which began in May 2003 (see letsrecycle.com story).
In its response to the Commission's consultation, published on the DEFRA website this week, the government expressed caution on the setting of waste prevention targets and advised proper cost-analysis on any possible new recycling targets for Member States. The UK believes the Commission should propose a comprehensive strategy by 2005.
Prevention
The UK government was broadly cautious when it comes to setting waste prevention targets. DEFRA said: “Key problems are the measurement of waste prevention, on whom the burden should be place and the imposition of sanctions for failure to meet targets.”
DEFRA said it was “questionable” whether any targets should be set Europe-wide because of the varying waste management practices in each Member State. Gains in waste prevention would best come through designing out waste from products and the production process, it said. If the Commission does decide new prevention targets are needed, they must be based on “robust evidence of the effectiveness of measures designed to achieve targets”.
New targets
Although it said targets were “not always the best mechanism for improving recycling performance”, the government is expecting the Commission to propose new targets for recycling and has also called for full cost-analysis work being carried out before anything is decided.
”If targets are opted for, legally binding targets would be more effective than 'indicative' targets“
DEFRA
If targets are opted for, DEFRA said legally binding targets would be more effective than “indicative” targets. The Department also urged the Commission to consider recycling targets on materials rather than just specific waste streams.
The government said: “Material based recycling targets could be more environmentally beneficial than waste stream based targets in some circumstances. They could have a wider impact by capturing material from a range of waste streams. In the UK a good example is plastic. It is difficult to collect and makes a small contribution to weight-based recycling targets. Material specific recycling targets could facilitate the recycling of currently neglected waste.
However, DEFRA did highlight concerns with segregating materials from complex products and the potential dangers from under-developed markets for recyclates.
Other measures
In looking at other measures apart from targets to promote waste prevention and recycling, the government said it was not generally in favour of landfill bans or the mandatory source separation of waste.
It said restrictions on landfill “may simply divert organic waste towards incineration, which might not be the optimal outcome”, while the nature of source separation should be decided at local level.
The UK response said: “The Landfill Directive…envisages a continuing (if reducing) role for landfill in the management of biodegradable municipal waste until at least 2020 and provides for a review of landfill targets in 2014.”
Producer responsibility was an option that showed varying degrees of success in the UK, DEFRA said, but should not be used where markets for recyclates are already profitable. The Commission's Thematic Strategy should encourage the growth of markets for recycled materials, the government said, and should stimulate demand for more sustainable products.
Measures suggested to promote markets included minimum recycled content requirements, public procurement initiatives and at a national level, reductions of VAT on goods with a high recycled content.
Cautious
The government was broadly cautious about the introduction of EU-wide tradable certificate schemes providing for cross-border trading of recycling obligations. But such schemes could have a role at the national level, where Member States believe that their own national circumstances favour their introduction.
The government's response to the European Commission's consultation Towards a Thematic Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling of Waste, is available at the DEFRA website:
www.defra.gov.uk
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