The consultation was launched in November 2022 and closed yesterday (15 February). It had sought views on making it a legal requirement for businesses, charities and public sector bodies to separate recyclables when putting them out for collection.
The recyclable materials covered by the proposals are glass; paper and card; metal and plastic; food waste from premises producing 5kg or more per week; small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE); and textiles.
According to the Welsh government, the reforms will help the move away from single use, decrease emissions and improve supply chain resilience (see letsrecycle.com story).
While UROC said that it appreciates that the intentions of the proposals overall are sound, there are “real concerns” for how this new approach will be rolled out and take effect in practice.
Regulator
The choice of regulator and proposed timelines were some of the aspects of plans which were criticised by UROC, the United Resources Operators Consortium.
The consultation outlined that Natural Resources Wales could oversee the system, which would also include a ban on sending unsold small WEEE and textiles from non-domestic and domestic premises to incineration or landfill, alongside a ban on sending all wood waste from non-domestic and domestic premises to landfill.
UROC expressed concerns about this, arguing that local authorities are “far better placed” for the position.
The consortium then described the proposals for dealing with non-compliance as “draconian”. It noted that the regime should be underpinned by way of formal notice and going straight in with a fixed monetary penalty as the consultation said is “disproportionate and unreasonable”.
The organisation added that the proposed timetable for implementation, in October 2023, is “unrealistic”, explaining that a phased approach with education and engagement would help facilitate a smooth transition.
Concerns
On the topic of regulator, UROC argued that the award of the ‘contract’ to NRW as the nominated regulator “requires more transparency” as it is “understood to be funded by the Welsh Government and therefore the taxpayer”.
It reasoned that councils already interact with local businesses when discharging other statutory and regulatory functions. It explained that many “have developed rapport with businesses and, in our view, can act more swiftly and effectively than NRW, given their proximity to and knowledge of their own localities”. The consortium also warned that this might result in conflicting situations in the event that both NRW and a local authority are simultaneously dealing with the same alleged offence.
UROC reiterated the need to start with engagement and education before enforcement, meaning that formal notice and face-to-face communications, so that a business can understand what it needs to do to comply, should precede a fixed or variable monetary penalty that could have been avoided.
If implemented effectively with this approach, “the enforcement tool packs a real punch with a bite to the bark effect,” the organisation concluded.
Subscribe for free