Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs Sixth Report


3  Market development

72. The Department suggested that "the major obstacle to increasing levels of recycling and resource recovery in Northern Ireland is the lack of local markets containing recycled material."[113] However, there were differing views on the availability of markets for recycled materials, and whether such capacity is required in Northern Ireland. TAG supported the development of local markets and local processing capacity.[114] Bryson House Recycling told us that finding markets has not been a problem.[115] WRAP pointed out that there was no "particular virtue in saying that all waste has to be reprocessed where it arises. We are talking about materials which are traded nationally, internationally and globally. Therefore, where the reprocessing capacity arises is something which, at the end of the day, will be sorted out by the market."[116]

73. We believe there is a need to develop a clearer and more sophisticated understanding of markets for recycled materials, and to identify those materials for which it is desirable to develop local markets. The aim should be to avoid giving undue support for investment in local reprocessing capacity which has little chance of survival in competitive global markets.

74. One of the key targets in the Waste Management Strategy was for the Department of the Environment and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Industry to initiate and co-ordinate a Market Development Programme. The purpose of the Programme was "to stimulate local demand for recycled materials by promoting uptake of products, developing specifications and exercising the purchasing power of Government, District Councils and major businesses in Northern Ireland"[117] The Waste Management Advisory Board's assessment is that Northern Ireland membership of the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP)[118] indicates "some progress" towards this objective.[119]

75. However, Friends of the Earth pointed out that WRAP "is being used as the main delivery mechanism for market development in the rest of the UK and this has been instrumental in development of reprocessing capacity. The full WRAP programmes need to be rolled out in Northern Ireland as there is a severe lack of reprocessing capacity and need for targeted markets development."[120] This position was supported by claims from other organisations, including TAG[121] and the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management,[122] which stressed that Northern Ireland was not participating in the full range of WRAP programmes.

76. The Department has sponsored WRAP work in Northern Ireland since 2002 and recognises its potential contribution to market development: "Membership of WRAP affords Northern Ireland access to a £34 million market development programme with developed products and processes that are fully applicable to Northern Ireland."[123] There was general support for Northern Ireland's participation in WRAP, and particularly the appointment of a Northern Ireland Liaison Officer.

77. Participation in the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has helped to develop processing capacity, both inside and outside Northern Ireland, for materials collected in the region. The Department must continue to support WRAP in Northern Ireland as its range of activities develops. We welcome the work that is taking place with the Republic of Ireland to develop markets on an all-Ireland basis.[124]

Waste Management Industry Fund

78. The principle of a Waste Management Industry Fund set up by EHS and Invest NI "to encourage the practical development of sustainable markets for reused, recycled or recovered materials by offering grants to capital projects" has received a general welcome.[125] However, its practical effectiveness has been questionable, and the Minister acknowledged that it "probably has not been as successful as we would have liked".[126]

79. The Waste Management Advisory Board told us that the Fund was envisaged originally as a catalyst to provide regional facilities, but with a budget of just £1 million it has proved utterly inadequate in meeting demand. It attracted some 63 applications seeking £30 million of funding. In addition, delays in obtaining planning approval or licences within the relevant timescale have effectively forced applicants to withdraw.[127] The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management called for changes to the Fund including a wider remit and quicker consideration of proposals,[128] and Friends of the Earth highlighted the exclusion of the community and voluntary sector from the scheme, and its failure to fund the Strategy commitment of supporting ten demonstration schemes for reduction, recycling and recovery.[129]

80. We call on the Minister to undertake an urgent review of the Waste Management Industry Fund, and market development funding generally, with a view to ensuring greater participation by the private sector and the involvement of the community and voluntary sector.

Standards

81. The evidence from WRAP brought home to us the crucial importance of having clearly defined standards for recycled materials in place to help determine when a material "is not waste any more but it is a product [with] a purpose, a function and a market value."[130] WRAP gave evidence about their work on developing a standard for compost, known as PAS100, and assured us that it was having a positive impact in Northern Ireland.[131]

82. The Quarry Products Association told us of recent progress in setting standards for recycled aggregates. However, the Association expressed concern that the Quality Protocol for the production of aggregates from inert waste, developed by the Association and WRAP and recognised in England and Scotland, had yet to receive recognition in Northern Ireland.[132]

83. In making use of the work underway by WRAP, Northern Ireland must seek to develop new markets for materials extracted from the waste stream by supporting the establishment of standards which use secondary materials. For example, the PAS100 standard can provide assurance about the quality of compost; and the Quality Protocol is able to provide confidence that quality aggregates can be produced from inert wastes. The Department should consider linking recycling and composting targets to the PAS100 standard to ensure the production of good quality products for the market.

Animal By-Products Regulations

84. Two of the sub-regional groups highlighted problems with the production of compost following recent legislation on the disposal of animal by-products.[133] The Department told us that the existing guidelines on process standards are based on those issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for in use in England. However, the groups were concerned that this guidance is currently entitled 'Draft Guidance', and claimed that the absence of finalised guidance for process standards has caused problems in tenders for a regional contract, and may affect their ability to meet recycling targets.[134]

85. We recommend that the Department clarifies the status of existing guidance by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs on the production of compost following the recent Animal By-Products Regulations. If the term 'Draft' no longer applies to the guidance, it should be dropped. If it is the intention to develop the Guidance, an indication of how and when this will be done should be given to enable equipment suppliers to tender for contracts on a sound basis.


113   Ev 111 Back

114   Q 15 Back

115   Q 159 Back

116   Q 184 Back

117   Ev 111 Back

118   "WRAP is a not-for-profit company that was created by Government in 2000 to work with industry, the public sector and the wider community to bring about positive change in the management of waste in the UK by increasing recycling." (WM7) Back

119   Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy Review Report, Waste Management Advisory Board for Northern Ireland, June 2004 (page 29) Back

120   Ev 203 Back

121   "We feel in Northern Ireland that a two-tier system now exists in that WRAP has extended its programme in GB a way which cannot be accessed in Northern Ireland." WM2 Back

122   "… the Waste Strategy commits to developing a centre of excellence in waste management in Northern Ireland, and recent developments within WRAP have meant that Northern Ireland is now out of kilter with the programmes currently being rolled out in England and Wales." WM10 Back

123   Ev 111 Back

124   QQ 21; 246 & 381 Back

125   Ev 111 Back

126   Q 378 Back

127   Q 265 Back

128   Ev 240 Back

129   Q 336 Back

130   Q 204 Back

131   QQ 204-206 Back

132   Ev 186 & Q 314 Back

133   The Animal By-Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (SR 2003 No 494) Back

134   Q 85 Back


 
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