WASTE REVIEW: What it means for councils

Local authorities should focus on rewarding householders for doing the right thing instead of fining them for leaving out their rubbish incorrectly or on the wrong day, the government said in yesterdays (June 14) Waste Review.

Defra has launched a 500,000 funding pot for councils and civil society groups to run trial incentive schemes which aim to reward residents and communities for adopting positive behaviours when managing waste.

And, the department reiterated its support for recycling incentive schemes, specifically mentioning the RecycleBank schemes in Windsor & Maidenhead, Halton and Lambeth as examples.

The Review also includes proposals to limit or remove a range of legislation relating to inspection and spying on household waste, in order to make sure powers and penalties are proportionate, necessary and fair.

In particular, it plans to repeal Section 46 of the Environment Protection Act 1990 which allows councils to specify how waste is presented for collection and to repeal powers under Section 108 of the Environment Act which allow councils to inspect household waste.

Instead, the government plans to set harm to local amenity as a test before a civil penalty can be imposed by a council, which it said would tackle neighbours from hell and ensure enforcement was targeted at those who persistently and deliberately break the law.

The document also confirms the removal of powers under the Climate Change Act which allow councils to run charging schemes. Removing the legislation will free up councils to run schemes which reward householders for producing less waste, it said.

LATS

Elsewhere, as predicted by letsrecycle.com (see letsrecycle.com story), the government has committed to abolish the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) from the end of the 2012/13 compliance year.

While the review acknowledged that this had been an effective tool in driving biodegradable waste away from landfill, as required under the EU Landfill Directive, it said that landfill tax had become in recent years by far the more significant driver. The advantage of this move, the government explained, was that it would remove a perceived barrier which the scheme presented to councils offering trade waste collection services to small businesses.

Among the other key issues relating to local authorities that are addressed in the Review are:

Work to increase the frequency and quality of collections. Defra has not committed any money to this issue, but claimed that work on procurement and joint-working between councils could improve efficiency of collections.

Bringing forward plans shortly for a Recycling and Waste Services Commitment, building on WRAPs Collection Commitment. Defra said this would be a stronger statement of councils willingness to consult on collections, with residents having the power to challenge them if they dont sign up or fail to meet the requirements of the commitment;

Support for councils to work with businesses so that recycling on the go can grow

The government has set no new targets for councils to reach but has said that councils will need to recycle at least 50% of household waste by 2020 as required under the Revised Waste Framework Directive.