Beyond Recycling

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Beyond Recycling

• The Importance of Municipal Waste Prevention in
  Policy and Plans
• Daniel Instone

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Overview of Presentation

• Waste Strategy key messages and update
• Local Government White Paper
• Implications for municipal waste prevention 

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Review of Englands Waste Strategy
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Progress made

• Much less of our industrial and commercial waste
  is being landfilled
• Recycling and composting of household waste has
  doubled in the last five years
• Greater amounts of packaging material are being
  recovered and recycled
• Significant improvements made in the recycling
  and re-use of construction and demolition waste
• Progress has been made in developing new and
  stronger markets for recycled materials
• Better information and advice to households and
  businesses

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Progress made (cont.)

• Significant improvements are being made to our
  knowledge base including new research and data
  strategies
• New policy instruments
• The landfill tax escalator and BREW
• The aggregate levy
• LATS
• New regulation to implement EU Directives (e.g.
  ELV)
• PPS10
• New Institutional arrangements
• WRAP
• WIP

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Vision and Policy Outcomes

• Objective for Waste Policy in Securing the Future
  
• Protection of human health and the environment by
  producing less waste and by using it as a
  resource wherever possible.
• Through more sustainable waste management
  reduction, re-use, recycling, composting and
  using waste as a source of energy the
  Government aims to break the link between
  economic growth and the environmental impact of
  waste.

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Vision and Policy Outcomes
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Challenges
Municipal Solid Waste Arisings Source Defras
Local Authority Waste Recycling Recovery and
Disposal Model output
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Recovering Resources
 

Commercial and Industrial Waste
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Challenges
Commercial and industrial waste arising (kt/y)
Source Defras Commercial and Industrial Model
output
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Challenges
Biodegradable municipal waste landfilled Source
Defras Local Authority Waste Recycling Recovery
and Disposal Model output
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Key Themes

• waste prevention in the wider Sustainable
  Consumption and
  Production (SCP) agenda
• waste as a resource and extending a recycling and
  re-use culture
• the non municipal sectors
• investment in the treatment of waste in each part
  of the chain.

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Waste as a resource
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Policy Framework
Enable

• Remove barriers
• Give information
• Provide facilities
• Provide viable alternatives
• Educate/ train/ provide skills
• Provide capacity

Approach evolves as attitudes behaviours change
over time
Catalyse - is the package enough to break a
habit and kick start change?
Engage
Encourage

• Community action
• Co-production
• Deliberative fora
• Personal contacts/ enthusiasts
• Media campaigns/ opinion formers
• Use Networks

• Through tax system
• Expenditure - grants
• Reward schemes
• Recognition/ social pressure league tables
• Penalties/ fines enforcement action

Exemplify

• Leading by example
• Achieving consistencies in policies

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Policy Framework

• simplifying the regulatory system
• extending producer responsibility looking for
  voluntary agreements Key sectors include food
  and construction
• keeping the pricing framework under review
• continuing support from public expenditure
• information, advice and awareness raising
• Government to lead by example on own waste and
  procurement
• improve the evidence base

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Overall Targets - Changes
2010
2015
2020
WS 2000
WS 2000
PROPOSED
PROPOSED
PROPOSED
Household waste recycling and recovery
rates Source Defras Local Authority Waste
Recycling Recovery and Disposal Model output
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Waste Prevention
New raw materials and energy

• prioritising products where waste impacts need to
  be tackled.
• extending product stewardship by producers and
  retailers and reducing waste impacts through
  eco-design

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Waste Prevention
New raw materials and energy
Production
Consumption

• promoting re-use, re-manufacture
• advising the public on environmental impacts of
  products
• Engaging businesses, inc. SMEs, to encourage
  resource efficiency

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SEA - Conclusions

• Waste hierarchy a sound environmental guide to
  inform policy.
• All scenarios assessed offered significant
  overall environmental benefit compared to
  business as usual.
• Waste prevention and recycling offer greatest
  benefits, eg carbon savings of over 6 mt about
  3 of total UK emissions.

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Roles and Responsibilities

• a Sustainable Waste Programme Board
• regional roles
• a wider strategic role for local authorities

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What consultees have said on waste prevention

• Must give it top weight
• Closely linked to re-use
• Need to distinguish different materials more
  (e.g. food, metals, wood, textiles, plastics)
• LAs have a clear role (already in many current
  municipal strategies)
• Clear role for businesses, especially retailers
• Importance of procurement policies
• LAs should influence other local players
• Link to sustainable production and consumption

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Other measures proposed

• Landfill tax escalator
• Powers for LAs to introduce variable charging
• Simplification of waste regulation
• Stronger sectoral agreements to reduce/recycle
  waste

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Strong and Prosperous Communities

• The Local Government White Paper

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White paper offer

• A stronger role for local authorities to lead
  their communities, shape their areas and bring
  local public services together
• More space for local authorities and other local
  service providers to innovate and respond to
  local needs
• Stronger focus on top priorities
• In exchange for
• More bottom-up accountability
• Stronger local authority leadership
• Better and more efficient services
• Tougher intervention when things go wrong

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Fundamentally rebalance the central-local
relationship - Single set of national outcome
indicators (agreed through CSR) - Small number
of targets agreed with each area (35) -
Reformed, more-risk-based and better targeted
inspection regime

• More accountable and responsive services at local
  level
• Enhanced right to be heard Community Call for
  Action and encourage petitions
• Promoting community ownership and management of
  assets
• Involving and consulting service users and
  providing better information
• Stronger role for LAs as place-shapers / local
  leaders
• Local authorities to develop Local Area
  Agreements in partnership with other agencies
  can also have multi-area agreements
• New role for LSPs and thematic partnerships
• Place duty on named partners to co-operate in
  agreeing LAA targets and to have regard to
  meeting them
• Presumption that all area-based funding will go
  thro LAAs

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How might this affect waste (including waste
prevention)?

• Indicators?
• Local area agreements (bringing in local partners
  and bringing 2 tiers together)?
• Thematic partnerships on waste?
• Multi-area (sub-regional) agreements?
• Scope for more local innovation / initiative?
• Encouraging strategic approach?
• Reinforces existing good practice?

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LAs as local leaders?

• Clear potential for LAs to take leadership role
  in encouraging waste prevention among other local
  players, using available instruments

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Waste strategy

• Being linked with broader Defra strategic reviews
• Aim to publish in new year

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Further milestones

• Pre-budget report
• Lyons inquiry final report
• Waste strategy
• Budget
• CSR 07
• Waste framework directive negotiations
• Against background of increased media/public
  interest