2 Role of Defra
Valuing
waste as a resource
5. To set the wider context for this inquiry, many
witnesses identified the benefits of moving towards a circular
or "closed loop" economy in which resources are kept
in circulation and valued to their full extent and the environmental
impacts of resource use and disposal consequently reduced. The
EU Commission estimates that better waste and resource management
could contribute an additional 3% to gross domestic product (GDP)
in Europe[7] and the Environmental
Services Association (ESA) has estimated that a more circular
economy could help to generate 50,000 new jobs with £10 billion
investment and boost the United Kingdom's GDP by £3 billion.[8]
The Government considers that it is important to maintain a focus
on moving towards a more circular economy, rather than
on achieving or delivering it. Defra has made it clear that it
expects businesses to drive the changes that are needed.[9]
6. Valuing waste as a resource is increasingly
important for the economy and the environment. One of Defra's
key priorities is to improve the environment. Sustainable waste
and resource management should play a key role in achieving this
aim.
Waste policy
7. Waste policy and regulation in England is guided
by the waste hierarchy, which is both a guide to sustainable waste
management and a legal requirement of the revised EU Waste Framework
Directive.[10] The waste
hierarchy indicates the following order of preference for the
stages of waste management: to prevent; to reuse; to recycle;
to recover; and to dispose. This is explained further in the following
diagram.
8. Waste policy, regulation and Government support
have been major drivers of positive change in England over the
last 20 years, illustrated by the introduction of the landfill
tax, statutory recycling targets for English local authorities,
programmes of funding support and the creation of the Waste and
Resources Action Programme (WRAP) as the Government's main delivery
body for the provision of advice on waste reduction, recycling
and resource efficiency in England.
9. A compelling example of the strength of Government
intervention in the waste management sector is the success of
the landfill tax (currently £80/tonne of standard waste and
£2.50/tonne of inert waste disposed at landfill).[11]
The EU Landfill Directive requires the UK to reduce the biodegradable
waste sent to landfill to 35% of the 1995 level by 2020. Landfill
tax was introduced in 1996 and qualitative research shows that
it has been a key influencing factor on the waste management industry
and a driver for the fall in demand for landfill and a rise in
demand for alternatives.[12]
About 130 landfill sites have closed since 2008 and the development
of alternative waste treatment facilities, such as energy-from-waste
plants, also diverts waste from landfill.[13]
Local councils in England have reduced the amount of material
landfilled by 71% per household between 2002/03 and 2012/13.[14]
The UK met its 2010 and 2013 landfill diversion targets and Defra
is confident that the UK is on track to meet the 2020 target.[15]
10. However, Defra wants the waste management sector
to switch from being Government-led to being driven by businesses
realising the economic and commercial opportunities that arise
from resource efficiency and tackling environmental challenges.
The Minister told us that recognising waste as a resource offers
an opportunity for innovation and the development of new technologies
and new businesses.[16]
Businesses have a role to play in creating market demand for recycled
products and packaging, as well as product design to reduce waste
and enable repair, reuse and recycling. In relation to the lower
end of the waste hierarchy, Green Alliance told us that the resource
recovery part of industry is "way ahead of Government in
this field […] in terms of its vision and its desire for
a long-term solution."[17]
11. In order to support the contribution made by
businesses, witnesses such as Keep Britain Tidy have called for
an overarching framework of national policy and a central ambition
to facilitate businesses in the long term.[18]
Looking at whether the current policy framework helps businesses
feel secure investing in new infrastructure, technologies, business
models, and/or improved design of products, we found that Defra's
reviews of waste policy in 2010 and 2011 were widely seen by industry
leaders as:
disappointing and lacking clarity, detail and
leadership. The language of ambition on waste is still there,
but it was not backed by policy levers that gave industry and
local government much confidence in the future direction of waste
policy.[19]
12. In this context, many witnesses expressed concern
about Defra's more recent announcement that it would "step
back in areas where businesses are better placed to act and there
is no clear market failure."[20]
SITA UK described Defra's decision to reduce its activities in
waste management as:
premature, not least because of the uncertainty
as to whether England will meet all of its EU obligations by 2020,
and because of the absence of a back-up plan held in reserve.[21]
13. Keep Britain Tidy are "deeply concerned"
about Defra's decision and point out that:
There still appear to be many market failures
present in enabling the waste hierarchy to be followed in practice
and businesses still require support and leadership from government
to enable the economic, social and environmental benefits of reducing
resource use and enabling a circular economy.[22]
14. When we put these concerns to Defra, the Minister
responded that he was "disappointed if that is what they
feel"[23] and emphasised
that, despite Defra's announcement last year, waste policy remained
"an important area of work for Defra" and "a priority".[24]
15. The investment and innovative solutions that
businesses bring to the waste management sector are invaluable,
but this does not remove the need for a clear framework of Government
policy, legislation and guidance within which such businesses
can thrive.
16. We recommend that Ministers actively reassure
interested parties that waste policy remains a priority. In order
to address concerns in the sector, Defra should immediately clarify
its definition and interpretation of "clear market failure",
explain how the market is monitored by the Government for signs
of such failure, and confirm the criteria which must be met to
identify areas where businesses are "better placed to act".
Leadership and collaboration
17. In addition to Defra, responsibilities for waste
policy are held by the Department for Communities and Local Government
(DCLG), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS),
the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and HM Treasury.
Witnesses have criticised the lack of co-ordination and co-operation
between Government departments and the lack of clear Government
leadership in waste and resource management. CIWM refer to "poorly
co-ordinated and sometimes antagonistic departmental policies
and interventions"[25]
and ESA talk of the sector being "subject to a myriad of
overlapping and sometimes conflicting messages from the various
government departments with differing responsibilities for waste".[26]
Similarly, the London Waste and Recycling Board is critical of
the fact that "there is a lack of an ambitious and coherent
national policy on waste management that incentivises local authorities
to reduce, re-use and recycle waste" which is "exacerbated"
by conflicting messages coming from different government departments.[27]
18. The National Farmers' Union (NFU) provided us
with a specific example of a contradiction between departmental
policies in terms of anaerobic digestion:
We feel the Government is trying to encourage
anaerobic digestion, and small-scale on-farm anaerobic digestion,
whereas some of the incentives, such as the feed-in tariffs, have
been pulled back slightly by DECC.[28]
19. The United Kingdom Without Incineration Network
(UKWIN) focused on inconsistencies in terms of incineration:
The pro-recycling message is being undermined
by perverse financial incentives to incinerate and compost material
that should not be…the Department for Communities and Local
Government allows planning consent for incinerators that go against
Government policies on climate change, energy efficiency and waste
hierarchy.[29]
20. The National Association of Waste Disposal Officers
(NAWDO) recommended that the Government needs to ensure that policies
arising from different departments are aligned and working together
and had a preference for Defra to take a lead role rather than
stepping back.[30]
21. Co-ordination and consistency between all
Government departments involved with waste policy is essential.
Defra's policies and guidance should not be undermined by contradictory
messages from other Government departments.
22. We recommend that, rather than stepping back,
Defra takes the lead role and responsibility for waste management
policy as part of its departmental priority to improve the environment.
This should include appointing a Minister with clear responsibility
for co-ordinating across all Government departments and ensuring
consistency of approach in terms of legislation, policy, incentives
and communications.
7 Chartered Institution of Wastes Management [WME 0073]
para 5 Back
8
Environmental Services Association, Going for Growth: A practical route to a Circular Economy,
June 2013 Back
9
Defra [WME 0072] para 2.3 Back
10
The EU requirements of the Waste Framework Directive are transposed
into law in England through the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations
2011. Back
11
In Budget 2014, it was announced that both rates of landfill tax
will increase in line with the RPI, rounded to the nearest 5 pence,
from 1 April 2015. Back
12
Databuild Research and Solutions, Qualitative research into drivers of diversion from landfill and innovation in the waste management industry
HM Revenue and Customs research report 316, April 2014 Back
13
See: GPT Waste solution, A decrease in waste volumes causes closure of landfill sites,
January 2013 Back
14
Local Government Association [WME 0078], para 4 Back
15
Defra [WME 0072] para 6.3 Back
16
Q216 Back
17
Q100 [Julie Hill] Back
18
Keep Britain Tidy [WME 0057] para 4.1 Back
19
Resource Association [WME 0068] para 5 Back
20
Defra [WME 0072] Annex A Back
21
SITA UK [WME 005] para 3 Back
22
Keep Britain Tidy [WME 0057] para 1.2 Back
23
Q228 Back
24
Q214 Back
25
Chartered Institution of Wastes Management [WME 0073], para 8 Back
26
Environmental Services Association [WME 0045] para 1 Back
27
London Waste and Recycling Board [WME 0007] para 5 Back
28
Q159 Back
29
Q94 [Shlomo Dowen] Back
30
National Association of Waste Disposal Officers [WME 0011] para
9.1 Back
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