Presentation

A presentation was given to the Committee on waste-related stories that have recently been in the media.

It was reported that the fallout from the Chinese recycling import restrictions continues. Resource Minister Therese Coffey stated that the ban gives us an opportunity to reprocess more here instead of exporting it to the other side of the world. However, these comments have been criticised by the Environmental Audit Committee and compliance specialists Ecosurety who have stated that the UK is nowhere near ready to create the number of recycling plants that will be required if all plastic waste is to be recycled on home soil.  They have stated that the country will therefore need to continue to export plastic waste overseas or incinerate it for the near to medium future while the recycling capacity in the UK is built up. Also in that time the Government will need to inject financial and market incentives for those companies that want to invest in plastic reprocessing. Ecosurety has also said that UK householders will have to become better at sorting plastic for recycling to ensure recyclers receive the right quality of plastic materials. It therefore called on Government to ensure a uniform domestic recycling system is introduced across the UK backed up by a campaign to educate households about how to recycle their plastic waste properly.

The paper recycling company Mid UK Recycling Ltd has stated that the issue with China is overshadowing another crisis in the industry; that of paper and cardboard. It has been suggested that packaging is becoming more difficult to recycle as cardboard boxes often contain metal staples, plastic parcel tape and amazon parcel stickers. This means that the Chinese maximum 0.5% contamination rate is barely achievable. Also, European mills are full with high stock levels, which is worse for the UK as they are battling against the UK winter to control moisture levels within storage facilities whilst facing increasing restrictions following the Environment Agency fire prevention plan guidance coming into play.

It was noted that EU ambassadors have endorse the provisional agreement on the legislative proposals of the waste package that was reached with the European Parliament last year, with an increase in recycling targets for all member states. The proposals will set the following targets for the preparation for reuse and recycling of municipal waste by weight;

·         55% by 2025

·         60% by 2030

·         65% by 2035

Committee was advised that Michael Gove remains as the Environment Secretary and Therese Coffey kept her post as Resource Minister for a second year. The SUEZ Chief Executive said it was reassuring to have stability in the leadership of the department and that consistency at Defra is crucial if the UK wants to stand any chance of being a future leader in resource efficiency, sustainability and environmental protection.

It was reported that the Government’s delayed 25-year Environment Plan was published in January, it includes pledges to support ‘comprehensive and frequent waste and recycling collections which protect local amenities and ensure that products are recycled as much as possible, returning high quality materials back into the economy. Its initial waste-related focus will be on plastics, some of the other proposals include urging supermarkets to create plastic free aisles, charging for single use plastic items and extending the plastic bag levy to smaller retailers.  It was noted that delivery of the Plan will link to the Resources and Waste Strategy which is expected to provide more detail on the funding of services to increase recycling levels. Although it was confirmed that the strategy is not likely to be published until the second half of 2018 as Defra needed to consider the proposed call for evidence on how the tax system or charges could help reduce the amount of single use plastic waste, and there would have to be consultation on elements of the strategy because it would propose regulatory changes.

It was also reported that Asda has become the first of the ‘big four’ supermarkets to set out detailed plans about how it will reduce its use of plastic. Asda has pledged to ‘use less and recycle more’ by reducing the amount of plastic in its own-brand packaging by 10% by the end of the year and work with suppliers to investigate new options to replace plastic packaging or identify more recyclable solutions.  Asda will also remove all single use cups and plastic cutlery from its cafes by the end of 2019 and will replace single use carrier bags with bags for life by the end of 2018.  In addition, Waitrose has announce it will remove black plastic trays from meat, fish, fruit and vegetables by the end of 2018 and will stop selling packs of disposable straws from September. Waitrose has also stopped selling items containing microbeads and switched to paper-stem cotton buds and are committed to making it own-label packaging widely recyclable, reusable or home compostable by 2025.  The retailer Iceland committed to eliminate plastic packaging from all of its own brand products by the end of 2023 by harnessing the latest technologies to create packaging using paper.

Starbucks launched a 5p coffee cup trial across 35 stores in London to assess whether customers reduce their use of single-use paper cups because of the additional charge. The proceeds generated will be donated to environmental regeneration charity and behavioural change experts Hubbub. Starbucks has also commissioned research which found that 48% of respondents said they would carry a reusable cup to save money and reduce waste.

Committee was advised that the London Borough of Newham has said its expensive and inflexible PFI deal is preventing it from improving its household recycling rate, which is currently the lowest in England at 14.1%. Newham is part of the East London Waste Authority which has a 25 year PFI contract to collect and dispose of 121,000 tonnes of waste a year. The PFI contract and Government funding cuts have been blamed for the authority being unable to boost its recycling rate. The Mayor of Newham stated that the PFI contract restricts waste materials from being collected separately, that the overall cost of the waste levy was one of the highest in the country and that there is a lack of financial incentives for the Council to invest in achieving higher recycling rates. The Mayor also stated that the Council is now caught in an expensive PFI where they lack choice, flexibility and saving opportunities through recycling solutions that many other authorities are able to exercise.

It was also noted that Brighton and Hove City Council has blamed an inflexible PFI deal for restricting recycling, saying that its PFI contractor, Veolia, only recycled those materials where there is a guaranteed end market. Veolia are not willing to change their position and the Council is contractually obliged under the terms of their PFI agreement to provide all waste materials, whether residual or recyclable, to the contractor.  The former Head of Waste at the Department of the Environment has highlighted that the East London Waste Authority was one of the early PFI’s which was conceived when recycling targets were lower and the focus was on reducing biodegradable waste to landfill. Therefore such contracts have little flexibility to adjust to the changing legislative and market conditions or to adapt to consumer behaviour.

Committee was advised that Conwy County Borough Council has delayed the roll-out of four weekly residual household waste collections after hearing that residents were having problems with recycling. A motion was passed to ask Cabinet to reconsider their resolution and ensure they were wholly satisfied that all education and communication mitigation measures raised at the meeting were in place.

RESOLVED    -           That the Joint Executive Committee noted the information

presented.