The Waste and Resources Action Programme has now entered the final year of its current business plan, which ends in 2006, and yesterday revealed some early thoughts on preparation of the next plan of the government-funded organisation.
” The mission remains the same – because the job isn’t finished. There will be a continued focus on resource efficiency.“
– Ray Georgeson, WRAP
Speaking at the annual Open Meeting – at which WRAP unveiled its Achievement Report for 2004/05 – director of policy Ray Georgeson echoed an observation by WRAP board member Kay Twitchen that the UK must accelerate the growth of recycling and composting to deliver the necessary landfill diversion by 2010.
The Landfill Directive requires the UK to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfil to 75% of 1995 levels.
The organisation said other European legislation – including producer responsibility – will also shape WRAP's thinking, but major influences will be Defra's review of Waste Strategy 2000 and the Spending Review.
The new Business Plan – which would be the third in WRAP's history – will also take account of the growing role of the devolved administrations and the increasing importance of Regional Development Agencies in promoting sustainable development throughout the English regions, the organisation said.
Mr Georgeson explained: “The mission remains the same – because the job isn’t finished. There will be a continued focus on resource efficiency, particularly given the vital role that recycling plays in sustainable development.
“In practice, this means that both the market development and waste minimisation activities will be carried forward into the next plan,” he added.
Targets
WRAP said it had an “excellent chance” in meeting the targets in its current business plan, but that there was a question over whether achievements would be made in time.
” The question is, as recycling accelerates, is it enough and can we do it fast enough? We will have a better idea of WRAP's progress by the end of this financial year.“
– Jennie Price, WRAP CEO
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, chief executive Jennie Price said: “There is no doubt that WRAP's work is making a real difference to recycling capacity, which we can demonstrate, and I believe we have an excellent chance of achieving most of our targets. The question is, as recycling accelerates, is it enough and can we do it fast enough? We will have a better idea of WRAP's progress by the end of this financial year and the targets in the next Business Plan will reflect this.
“One of the things that is important to note is that when confronted by big issues, the industry is pulling together and the current work on the green list waste is a good example. This type of working partnership will be critical as we go forward,” Mrs Price added.
Achievements
The Achievements Report for 2004/05 shows that WRAP took in 51.7 million from Defra, the DTI and devolved administrations. Of this, 31.9 million went towards WRAP's work under the banner of Defra's Waste Implementation Programme.
This WIP work included 14 million spent on waste awareness work such as the Recycle Now campaign, and 11.8 million on waste minimisation projects such home composting and re-usable nappy programmes.
About 13.3 million went to the market development work that represented WRAP's original remit before being given the wider WIP responsibilities in May 2003.
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The organisation says it has achieved an additional 1.8 million tonnes of new recycling capacity – more than was achieved in 2001 to 2004 combined. Its Recycle Now campaign is claiming a five percentage points increase in the number of people who are now “committed recyclers”.
Challenges
Mrs Price said there had been some challenges along the way, with one area where improvements are being made being the Local Communications Funding programme, which focuses on boosting participation in household recycling.
Local authorities have struggled with funding procedures, Mrs Price said, explaining: “It has become clear from feedback sessions we have held that the contract and tender processes were too complex. In addition, the change procedures were too strict and in some cases did not allow authorities the flexibility to adapt their plans to suit any changes in their communication plans or priorities.”
Procedures are being simplified for the next funding round, Mrs Price added, with more WRAP resources committed to support local authorities that receive funding.
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