EXCLUSIVE: A consortium of major waste disposal authorities have called on government to reject EU recycling targets and adopt an independent resource agenda for England in the wake of Brexit.
The call to scrap weight-based targets comes from the Joint Waste Disposal Authorities (JWDA) – which is made up of Greater Manchester, Merseyside, East London, North London, West London and Western Riverside.
Six waste authorities have combined for the report: (clockwise from top left) GMWDA waste is treated at the Viridor facility in Cheshire; A MRF for Merseyside operated by Veolia – residual waste is handled by Suez; NLWA’s incinerator at Edmonton; Suez EfW plant near Bristol will take waste from West London; Cory has the recycling and waste contract for Western Riverside; and Shanks’ Frog Island facility for the East London Waste Authority
Putting forward their case for an ‘English Resource Strategy’, the six authorities claim the UK can lead the world in product sustainability ‘outside of the constraints of the EU Framework and without the same need for political conciliation’.
Many of the measures proposed by the JWDA for the Strategy chime with those currently mooted in the Circular Economy Package – including product redesign and supporting secondary raw material prices to create stability and allow investment.
But the waste authorities are less supportive of weight-based recycling targets, with the environmental benefits ‘not necessarily justifying the higher incremental cost of making further gains’.
It follows an exercise which found that even by collecting every marketable material in the Greater Manchester area, a maximum of 66% recycling could be achieved. In addition, if Manchester could get 90% of residents to recycle 90% of the time, it would still only achieve 53% recycling.
IBA
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, John Bland, treasurer and deputy clerk at the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority, said he would “defy anyone” to get the UK to 65% or 70% recycling, without measures such as counting incinerator bottom ash recycling towards the rates.
“I think the fact that we haven’t got an English waste policy puts us behind the principalities, where we could do even better.”
John Bland, treasurer and deputy clerk
GMWDA
He said: “In Manchester we undertook a survey in 2011 and found that the most councils could capture is 71%, and you’re never going to collect that much all of the time. It is incredibly difficult to achieve.
“Not many people think legislation that has come out of Europe is a bad thing, and by removing all Circular Economy proposals we risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But I think the fact that we haven’t got an English waste policy puts us behind the principalities, where we could do even better.”
Asked what would happen in the event that the UK was forced to adopt the Circular Economy Package as a condition of retaining access to the single market, Mr Bland conceded that this was a “real possibility” but added “that shouldn’t mean we should accept something we are going to fail on”.
Harmonisation
JWDA has also suggested that by leaving the EU, the UK could better achieve its plans for collection harmonisation since ‘the risk of more stringent future source separation requirements has been viewed differently’ at the point of contract awards.
Harmonisation, it adds, should be ‘market-led’ with a balance between separate and commingled collections to provide value on materials. Resources for which there are defined markets should meanwhile be collected nationally, according to the Authorities.
RDF
JWDA finally criticised the UK’s over reliance on refuse-derived fuel exports, which has seen spare capacity in Europe ‘exploited by the waste sector’. It suggests that Brexit would bring opportunities to close the domestic capacity gap on residual waste treatment, providing longer-term energy security.
‘If agreed, the European Circular Economy Package will result in a significant reduction in landfill across Europe, so competition for EfW capacity in Europe looks set to increase’, the Authorities note.
Defra
JWDA’s wish to scrap the higher EU-based targets echoes recent comments made by Defra minister Therese Coffey, who voiced concerns over the Circular Economy while giving evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee last month. Mr Bland added “the noises are very encouraging”.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
