Much-anticipated consultation documents on a deposit return scheme (DRS) and extended producer responsibility (EPR) have been published today (24 March).
The joint consultation on EPR is run by the four governments with responsibility for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The DRS consultations are run are by Defra for England and separately by the Welsh Government for Wales and the Northern Ireland devolved legislature for Northern Ireland.
A third consultation on consistency in recycling and waste collections within local authorities is expected before or after Easter.
The consultations are set to have a huge impact on the sector. Follow our live blog for up-to-the-minute reactions to the policy announcement. Refresh this page throughout the day for the latest responses.
What’s your view? Email your thoughts on the consultations to news@letsrecycle.com.
More on this story: DRS and EPR consultations published
The consultation in England on EPR can be seen HERE
The consultation on a deposit return scheme can be seen HERE
ESA says DRS and EPR must make it easier for consumers to recycle
17.08 The Environmental Services Association (ESA) said the the long-term success of the DRS and EPR would be determined by their ability to make it easier for consumers to recycle properly.
The trade association representing the UK’s waste management and secondary resources industry echoed concerns about the delay to the third consultation and how it would affect the first two.
Jacob Hayler is executive director of the ESA
Jacob Hayler, executive director of the ESA, said: “We welcome today’s important progress milestone for Defra’s Resources and Waste Strategy and we look forward to reviewing and responding to these critical consultations in detail alongside our members.
“Fundamentally, the long-term success of these policies will be determined by their ability to make it easier for consumers to recycle properly; to incentivise producers to make things more recyclable; and to underpin investment by our sector in the next generation of new UK recycling infrastructure, so it is through these lenses that we will be considering our responses.
“The complex policy interventions set out in these consultations must be considered holistically rather than in isolation, so the decision to consult separately at a later date on ‘collection consistency’ does raise some immediate questions about whether stakeholders will be able to properly assess how the proposed measures will work together in a systemic way, but we remain hopeful that the full picture will become clearer well before the end of the consultation period.”
Biffa hopes consultations ‘facilitate discussions’ with businesses
17.00 Waste management company Biffa said the consultations signalled progress on the government’s Resources and Waste Strategy and could facilitate discussion and ‘expert advice’ from businesses.
It said it believes the EPR scheme should encourage and incentivise waste producers to rethink packaging design for recyclability and help to ensure that products which go in the bin are recyclable to begin with.
Jeff Rhodes is head of environment and external affairs at Biffa
And, it thinks the introduction of a DRS could be successful in reducing ‘on-the-go waste’, but it needs to be easy to use and readily accessible.
Biffa’s head of environment and external affairs Jeff Rhodes said: “It is critical the government listens to us and I welcome the consultations launched today. At Biffa we have valuable expertise, we are a leading UK company when it comes to sustainable waste management, surplus produce redistribution and plastic recycling. Our expertise can help government achieve its ambitions of
eliminating avoidable waste by 2050, achieving a 65% recycling rate and for all plastic packaging to be recyclable by 2025.”
Delay to launch of third consultation ‘unfortunate’
16.53 Producer responsibility compliance scheme Ecosurety welcomed the launch of the first two consultations, but said the decision to delay the third was “unfortunate”.
Robbie Staniforth, head of innovation and policy at Ecosurety, said he hoped the government’s views on consistent collections in England were made apparent “soon”.
Robbie Staniforth is head of innovation and policy at Ecosurety
Mr Staniforth said: “Ecosurety welcomes the launch of these vital consultations, yet feels it is unfortunate that the consistent collection consultation which is intrinsic to the overall functioning of the packaging waste system has not been launched alongside EPR and DRS.
“Given the shortened consultation period, we hope there is significant overlap of the consultations and that the government’s views on consistent collections in England are made apparent soon.”
He added: “Thanks to Defra’s extensive engagement plan over the last 18 months, much of the content of these consultations is very familiar, with Ecosurety’s input on certain aspects of the EPR system’s design clearly having been taken into consideration. We look forward to exchanging views with all stakeholders over the forthcoming weeks, with a view to ensuring the new system is workable from go-live.”
‘Government must take packaging industry’s views into consideration’
16.45 The executive director of aluminium packaging recycling organisation Alupro says the waste industry and campaigners are still split on how the DRS should work.
Rick Hindley warned ‘importing’ a DRS scheme from other countries was not guaranteed to deliver success.
Rick Hindley is executive director of aluminium packaging recycling organisation Alupro
He said: “The unique market dynamics of the UK mean that simply ‘importing’ a DRS scheme from other countries is not guaranteed to deliver success. As such, adopting best practice design and taking all available insight into consideration will prove pivotal.
Mr Hindley said Alupro had analysed the implications of implementing a flat rate versus a variable rate deposit fee. “The findings were clear – a flat rate DRS would result in 10% lower return rates for the first two years for all containers, plastic would further dominate the beverage packaging on supermarket shelves and the UK’s thriving aluminium industry, which employs more than 20,000 workers nationwide, would be faced with the real possibility of plant closures.
“Conversely, a variable rate fee would see the government achieve its 90% return rate target almost a year earlier, leading to a higher recycling rate and less litter on the streets – in essence, the best solution by far from an environmental and economic perspective.
He added: “As consultations commence, it’s imperative that the government takes the valuable views of consumers and the packaging industry into close consideration when discussing introduction and implementation. Failure to do so could prove disastrous.”
DRS could help ‘cut plastic pollution’
16.45 A comprehensive DRS could be a “game-changer” in efforts to reduce the huge number of discarded plastic bottles that blight the environment but it must include all drinks containers of all sizes, Friends of the Earth said.
Friends of the Earth’s plastics campaigner Camilla Zerr said: “A comprehensive deposit return scheme is needed to boost recycling, cut waste and help stem the relentless flow of discarded plastic bottles that blight our environment and threaten our wildlife.
“However, some of these proposals are far too weak. We need an ‘all in’ scheme that includes bottles, cans and cartons of every size and every material.
“Ministers must stand up to industry lobbying because delaying the scheme until 2024 will create even more unnecessary waste and pollution.
“But focusing on better recycling initiatives like DRS is not enough. Ministers must do far more to reduce the amount of waste produced in the first place.
“The government must set legally-binding targets to reduce the mountains of plastic waste created every year and ensure that more of our products and packaging are re-used and refilled.”
SAVE THE DATE:
The Resources & Waste Strategy Revisited Conference is taking place online on 12 May 2021. This full day conference will explore responses to the consultations and aims to bring the industry together for networking and discussions on all three documents.
Visit here for details.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Plastic
