LARAC and the Recycling Association have voiced disappointment over falling recycling rates, claiming that weight-based targets should be reviewed.
EPR schemes and direct charging could be a solution to aiding cash-strapped councils, according to LARAC
And, LARAC’s chief executive Lee Marshall has called for more funding and support for local authorities in order to successfully achieve recycling targets.
The Recycling Association called for “quality first ahead of quantity” and questioned whether weight-based targets should have a place in recycling at all.
The calls from the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee and the Recycling Association come after publication of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) figures last week showing the first ever decline in the UK’s household recycling rate (see letsrecycle.com story).
LARAC has attributed the latest figures to the ongoing council budget cuts on waste services. It believes the drop in recycling levels shows the funding of local authority waste services need a fundamental review and initiatives such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Direct Charging need to be and implemented.
The organisation has urged Defra to work constructively with both LARAC and other local government groups to map out the policy instruments needed to see the UK achieve the 50% recycling rate “it now appears to be in danger of missing”.
‘Disappointed’
Andrew Bird, chair of LARAC, voiced his disappointment with the falling rates but added “when waste services are competing for a reduced budget with adult care, education and social services it is clear something is going to give. We need to establish new funding streams into local authorities to ensure the recycling rate increases again.
“As an industry, we need a mature conversation about how we can implement EPR and Direct Charging systems that provide funds to the relevant parts of the system, enabling Producers to meet their obligations and ensure a step change in the recycling habits of people.”
LARAC has claimed that the green waste recycling rate, which is largely influenced by weather, can significantly impact on the overall rate. The group has suggested this shows that a tonnage-based measure is not ideal and other metrics should be considered in the future.
However, the organisation added that it is “pleased to see that the amount of food waste collected by councils has increased in the past year, showing the call for mandatory targets in this area are misplaced and not needed.”
Recycling Association
Commenting on the drop in recycling rates, Recycling Association chief executive Simon Ellin said: “These figures show that it is imperative that this work done by WRAP is now implemented by Government, by requiring local authorities to introduce consistent household collections across England.
Simon Ellin, chief executive of the Recycling Association
Mr Ellin said that while calls for more government funding to promote recycling are welcome, ultimately the focus of communication campaigns should be on improving quantity and quality, showing the householder how to recycle effectively.
He added: “However, now would also be a good time to consider whether we should have weight-based targets at all. Surely it is better to have 5,000 tonnes of quality recycled product than 10,000 tonnes of contaminated material that might end up in landfill?
“Undoubtedly, at a time when local authorities have had their budgets cut while at the same time having to meet these targets, this has led to increasing levels of substandard product. In the interests of making the UK the best market for recycled product, let’s look at quality first ahead of quantity.”
Mandatory Targets
In a blog on the LARAC website, chief executive Lee Marshall highlighted that calls for mandatory targets are “way off the mark” without any extra funding for local authorities.
Mr Marshall said: “There is no one answer and looking at targets on their own misses the fundamental point – our budgets have diminished across all local authority services and waste management is now being told to shoulder a portion of that burden.”
Dismissing claims that ‘confusion’ surrounding household recycling is the be all and end all of collection problems, Mr Marshall said “The truth is recycling costs.”
He added that although consistency work, such as carried out by WRAP, is helpful, it is not the answer to all recycling problems, instead government investment and support is needed, as seen in Wales.
He said: “Until that happens in England then we can kid ourselves that we can make everything the same and then the recycling rate will rocket. If only it were that simple, we would have done it already.”
The post LARAC and Recycling Association reject weight-based targets appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
