Producers have also come under fire from the minister for their production of packaging. She accused them of the “willy-nilly” production of products, arguing that a DRS will ensure they pay a fair share of the cost of recycling and reuse.
The minister, Julie James MS (Member of the Senedd), who is at the heart of discussions over how the new producer responsibility system will be rolled out, was speaking at the Welsh Assembly’s climate change, environment and infrastructure committee on 20 January.
She spoke in support of the proposed new UK-wide extended producer responsibility regime which will see plastic bottles go to a DRS rather than through local authority kerbside collections.
Council concerns
The Welsh local authority concerns over the impact of the DRS and removal of drinks bottles and cans from councils were raised in the committee by Conservative shadow climate change minister, Janet Finch-Saunders, MS for Conwy.
Ms Finch-Saunders asked whether local authorities had been involved in the discussions around the DRS.
Manufacturers
The minister responded: “One of the big issues is about who pays for stuff… Some of the councils have put an argument up, and I absolutely see that, that basically you’re taking stuff out of what is very efficient kerbside recycling to put it into a possibly less efficient deposit-return scheme. But, of course, the manufacturers pay for that.”
She continued: “So, there is a big issue about why the taxpayer should pay to recycle products that are being produced willy-nilly by producers when lots of viable alternatives are there. So, this is about, of course, making sure that we can efficiently recycle a product, but it’s also about making sure that the people who produced the product in the first place are paying a fair share of the cost of recycling and reusing.”
Commingling
The committee also saw Jenny Rathbone, Labour MS for Cardiff Central, ask what more can be done to get local authorities with low recycling rates to improve them. She cited Cardiff which is still commingling glass which “means that it contaminates the paper and the cardboard and makes it less valuable”.
The minister responded that she would be summoning councils in Wales with low recycling rates, to a “cosy meeting” with her and she hopes to persuade them of the “error of their ways”.
Ms James said that she encourages all councils in Wales to go to the Welsh Government blueprint, which produces “the best results”.
Subscribe for free