Nearly a quarter of respondents to a Defra survey analysing the waste sector’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic reported that their levels of business fell in the past 12 months.
However, while 24% of respondents reported that their levels of business fell by up to 20%, nearly a fifth (19%) reported that it had risen.
Defra undertook the survey in partnership with the CIWM
The fortnightly ‘Covid-19 Waste Sector Survey’ was commissioned by Defra to understand the “ongoing impacts of Coronavirus on the waste sector and where challenges may exist”.
The survey is being run with the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and the first data set is for the week commencing 16 November.
However, Defra warns in the introduction to the statistics that “interpreting the data is not an absolute science”.
The department said: “Analysis of the data should be used to support wider intelligence and understanding of the waste sector in response to Covid-19, opposed to being used as a definitive representation of the industry at this time”.
Data
The data comprises 139 respondents, with 38% saying they have more than 250 employees.
As outlined below, it shows a varied picture for the waste sector, with the majority reporting some hit to their level of business, but 23% reporting it staying the same.
Waste levels
More than half (56%) of respondents said they collect waste and 28% of these respondents said the amount of waste they have collected has increased by up to 20%.
A further 7% reported that their waste volumes have risen by between 21% and 40%, while a combined 36% of respondents said their waste volumes had fallen.
A combined 37% said the volume of waste they are collecting has risen
Sectors
The survey also underlined that some sectors have been much harder hit by the pandemic.
For example, 45% of respondents said the amount of residual waste they have been collecting has increased by up to 20%, with a further 36% reporting the same increase for dry recyclables.
Respondents from the WEEE and textiles recycling sectors reported the biggest hit, with 38% of respondents in both sectors reporting a fall of up to 20% in how much material they are processing.
For the paper sector this was much more varied. While 23% of respondents said they had recording a fall of up to 20% in volume, 21% said they have received up to 20% higher, and a further 5% said this was 40-60% higher.
For plastic, most respondents reported this as staying the same, as highlighted below.
Exports
The survey showed the volume of waste being exported has also fallen, although only 22% of respondents said they export waste.
A combined 56% of exporters who responded to the survey said the volume of exported waste has fallen, while 22% said this has risen and the remainder said it stayed the same.
Incineration
In terms of “incineration without energy recovery”, 60% of respondents said the volumes are staying the same, while 25% said this is increasing and 15% said it has dropped.
For “incineration with energy recovery”, 47% said the volume of waste they are sending for energy recovery has increased, and 36% said it had stayed the same.
Survey
The full survey results can be seen here.
Defra says it has worked with private sector industry groups to design this survey to obtain high level information relating to business levels and activity through the collection, sorting, recycling, reprocessing, recovery, export, and disposal of waste in England.
The post Defra survey highlights Covid impact on sector appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
