The government should look to offer a clearer definition of councils’ obligations for the separate collection of waste after the UK has left the EU, the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) has claimed today (21 February).
EIC, which represents businesses and organisations within the environmental sector including waste firms such as Cory, Veolia and Biffa has made the recommendation within a report ‘Brexit: Implications for Waste and Resources Legislation’.
Government should replace separate collection provisions to allow commingling with glass excluded, EIC has claimed
The report, which was compiled by BP Collins Solicitors alongside EIC’s Waste and Resource Management Working Group, claims that waste management in the UK has been ‘transformed’ by EU environmental legislation.
However, the report also highlights a number of areas where issues have arisen over the implementation of EU law, and where policy in the UK could be improved after the UK has left the European Union.
Among the issues highlighted is the use of tonnage-based targets, which EIC claims has been ‘very effective’ in driving action on recycling but has “created incentives to focus recycling on heavier materials whether or not they are the highest environmental priority”.
EIC claims that Brexit could create an opportunity to dictate new recycling targets up to 2025 as well as an opportunity to consider “whether targets could be made more nuanced by incorporating measures focused on wider environmental goals such as CO2 impacts.
The report also calls for a review of provisions for separate collection as set out originally in the WFD, which it is claimed have led to ‘too much ambiguity’.
Separate Collection
EIC claims that the separate collection requirements, which were originally a part of the Waste Framework Directive, and were the subject of a long-running Judicial Review centring on whether councils could collected recyclable materials using the commingling method of collection have caused ‘uncertainty in the market’.
Separate Collections, what the guidance says:Every collector (Waste Collection Authority or establishment or undertaking collecting waste) must, when making arrangements for the collection of waste paper, metal, plastic or glass, ensure that those arrangements are by way of separate collection. The requirement to separately collect applies when: (a) it is necessary to ensure that waste undergoes recovery operations in accordance with Articles 4 and 13 of the Waste Framework Directive, and to facilitate or improve recovery; [the necessity test] and; (b) it is technically, environmentally and economically practicable Source: Environment Agency Briefing Note on Separate Collection of Recyclables (Dec 2014) |
UK laws derived from the Directive allow councils to continue to collect recyclable material in a single ‘commingled’ stream, if it is possible to demonstrate that separate collections are not technically, environmentally or economically practicable (TEEP).
However, in its recommendations, EIC adds: “A more pragmatic approach, focused on clear operational guidelines that enable high quality recyclate to be delivered should be developed instead.”
EIC adds that the government should explicitly replace separate collection provisions to allow commingling with glass excluded.
Definition
Elsewhere, EIC has also highlighted ‘complexity’ over the definition of waste, as set out in the Waste Framework Directive. Article 3 of the WFD defines waste as ‘any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard’.
EIC adds that a definition of waste was agreed to enable a continent-wide system of waste regulation, but that the definition has proved “problematic” in areas such as industrial by-products.
Despite these perceived problems, EIC has recommended continuing to use the existing EU definition of waste in any future UK law.
It added: “Despite its flaws, UK industry has got used to working with the existing definition. A wholesale change post Brexit could create years of confusion and legal uncertainty. Retaining the EU definition could also help with Anglo-European trade in recyclate.”
“The complex layers of EU waste law established over 40 years have transformed waste management and recycling in the UK, helping us get from bottom of the league to mid-table.”
Matthew Farrow
EIC
Commenting on the report, EIC executive director Matthew Farrow said: “The complex layers of EU waste law established over 40 years have transformed waste management and recycling in the UK, helping us get from bottom of the league to mid-table. Post-Brexit the government must resist making significant changes to regulations as this will undermine what has been achieved.
“But there are areas where new thinking is required. It is not clear that the UK will meet the EU 2020 50% recycling target and Commission will no longer be able to sanction the UK for not achieving it. While the EU is considering a one-size fits all target for the remaining EU countries for 2030, the UK should consider setting a 2025 target that is ambitious but realistic in a UK context. Such a target if set with industry and cross-party support would provide an investment framework for the industry to drive UK progress towards a circular economy.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
