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Waste groups write to Churchill over legislation delays

Defra has been criticised by three waste and recycling associations for still not publishing the government’s responses to consultations on consistent collections and a deposit return scheme (DRS).

Both private and public sector are urging Defra to publish timelines for the consistency programme

On Friday (1 July), the Environmental Services Association (ESA), the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) and the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO) released a copy of a joint letter raising their concerns. The letter was sent to the Resources and Waste Minister, Jo Churchill at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The letter warned that the current level of inflation will impact on the cost of infrastructure and services needed to deliver the reforms, and “further delay will only exacerbate this”. And the three organisations also warned that not knowing legislation timelines will cause “unnecessary bottlenecks in LA contracting”.

Final consultation responses for consistency and a DRS had been expected in “early 2022” and the minister said in mid-May that the response would come “very shortly”. So far no indication has been given on when this might be, and the sector is now showing public signs of growing impatience.

Letter

The open letter listed a range of elements that will need to be implemented for the delivery of the new system, including the adaptation of existing infrastructure, the review and potential amendment of current contracts and services to meet the new requirements.

To prevent delays to implementation, the organisations are seeking “urgent clarity on seven key points that will allow us to begin the complex process of implementing the changes required for successful delivery of the reforms from 2025 onwards”.

The seven points were:

1.  Confirm the list of materials which will need to be separated for recycling under Consistency of Collections, along with the clear implementation timeline.

2.  Provide clarity of the final form that modulated fees will take under EPR, both in terms of their monetary value and the overall assessment framework for recyclability, so that producers can begin to adapt the composition of their packaging portfolios.

3.  Confirm the final form and timeline for the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme, which we anticipate will divert thirty-five per cent of the material value from local authorities’ kerbside recycling services and provide clarity on whether a digital DRS is under consideration.

4.   Provide final TEEP guidance and minimum service standards so that the sector can understand these requirements as well as any flexibility and derogations which may apply going forward.

5.   Confirm that the test of ‘Efficient and Effective’ under EPR cannot override a successful TEEP assessment.

6.  Provide clarity over penalties and the enforcement regime so that the industry can anticipate likely compliance levels with the regulations, which we believe will be essential to facilitate investment.

7.   Provide transparency about how and who will financially support the new costs being incurred by the sector in supporting all of these changes. This could include a flexibility mechanism given to retrofitting and/or replacing infrastructure before its expected or contracted end of life.

Investment

The letter went on to explain that industry has estimated that £10 billion of investment will be required over the next 10 years to meet the government’s recycling ambitions.

John Coates is head of external affairs at LARAC

John Coates, head of external affairs at LARAC, said: “This inertia is causing supply chain pressures and unnecessary contract complications. Councils are now faced with extending contracts yet still further (if possible) or procuring interim arrangements.

“Both of these will lock them out of changing once Defra’s positions on Consistency and DRS are known. No council can make these decisions with any degree of certainty at this current time.”

NAWDO

Sam Horne, chairman of NAWDO, added: “We recognise the challenge of implementing such sweeping change to the sector but there is a lack of clarity over some key aspects, such as funding streams, that has the potential to places the timetable for delivery at risk.

“We want to work with Government to establish how these policies can be implemented and urge them to do this is as soon as possible so that the necessary investment can be made and new services and systems delivered.”

Private sector

Jacob Hayler is executive director of the ESA

The ESA pointed out that private sector operators and local government partners are “waiting to invest in new services but are currently unable to do so in the absence of clarity”.

Executive director of the ESA, Jacob Hayler, said: “Local authorities and their contractors remain supportive of the Government’s packaging and recycling reforms and we are committed to working with Government to ensure their successful delivery.

“However, both our members and counterparts in local government are becoming increasingly concerned that the delay in timelines for the delivery of the flagship packaging reforms will in turn delay implementation, cause unnecessary bottlenecks in local authority contracting and inhibit necessary contractual, service and infrastructure investments happening in a timely and effective manner.”

Useful link
Joint letter to the recycling minister from ESA, LARAC and NAWDO

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