Author Information: Lindsay Millington is director general of the British Metals Recycling Association. She represents the industry on a number of government bodies, including Defra's new waste strategy stakeholder group and the BERR end-of-life vehicle consultation group. Following an early career in the not-for-profit sector, she was chief executive of the metals sector skills body, MetSkill, from 1990 to 2005, where she led a variety of initiatives including the re-introduction of metals manufacturing apprenticeships and vocational qualifications. A graduate of Manchester University and the London School of Economics, she is currently studying for an MA with the Open University. UK metal recyclers recover 15 million tonnes of metal every year: enough to both satisfy domestic industry and make a significant contribution to export trade. The environmental benefits are enormous: pressure on landfill, demand for new raw materials, energy use and CO2 emissions are all reduced.
Every year, some two million cars (more than any other EU country), five billion food and drink cans and three and a half million white goods are recovered; as well as industrial off-cuts, demolition and other materials. All this metal is recycled, to make high quality ‘new' metal. We believe this is a UK recycling success story.
The main ‘reward' for this success, however, seems to be more and more regulation, with a ‘one size fits all' approach that is rarely proportionate to our activities.
EPP
The proposed Environmental Permitting Programme(EPP) is a case in point. ‘Streamlining' regulations and guidance means that sector specific guidance will disappear – guidance that helps the specialist (often small) operator understand regulation, and helps the regulator understand the specialist operator.
Metal recyclers tend to be long-established businesses with experienced staff. 80% of BMRA members are approved as technically competent under ‘grandfather rights', which recognise prior experience. 30% operate under the ‘light touch' regulation of waste management licensing exemptions.
These are arrangements that have worked well, for many years, without risk to the environment. But EPP is expected to require that everyone attends expensive training courses. Furthermore, a Defra review of exemptions is likely to propose that some, perhaps all, of these exempt sites should move into full licensing.
Such changes are neither risk based nor proportionate. Nor do they follow ‘better regulation' objectives to reduce the burden on business. Moreover, they discourage recycling effort and, ultimately, reduce capacity.
It is time for government to recognise the importance and success of metal recycling by re-appraising its regulatory framework from industry's point of view.
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