Government response
Introduction
The Government welcomes the Committee's inquiry and
report into Waste Management in England. A key priority for Government
is to boost growth in the economy while continuing to protect
and improve the environment. Encouraging a more sustainable and
efficient approach to resource use and management has a major
role to play in this. With the global demand for resources projected
to treble and as virgin materials become scarcer, it is essential
that we make the best use of our materials and resources, prevent
waste, recycle efficiently, and deal with waste properly. A key
component to this is keeping material resources in circulation,
where it makes environmental, economical and societal sense. Government
therefore believes it is important to move towards a more circular
economy, which is essential for our future growth, increased resilience
and environmental and human health.
The Government provided written and oral evidence,
setting out the position and activities underway that support
improved resource and waste use and management. This is available
at
http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environment-food-and-rural-affairs-committee/waste-management-in-england/written/9675.html.
Response to the recommendations
1. 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".
(Paragraph 16)
We share the Committee's view and recognise the importance
of the waste and resources management sector and Ministers regularly
talk to sector organisations on a range of issues that impact
on them. Government, as with all sectors of the economy, must
invest resources and prioritise activities to make the best use
of public funding in these challenging economic times. This therefore
means that government activities must focus on areas that only
Government can and must do, i.e. where there is a clear market
failure.
Our approach to establishing a business case for
Government intervention is in line with HMT's Green Book Guidance
that a market failure must exist. In this sense, 'market failure'
refers to a situation where the market has not and cannot of itself
be expected to deliver an efficient outcome, including situations
where there are indirect effects on others for which the market
cannot take account.
In the case of resource management, there is a clear
rationale for public involvement in managing general waste from
diffuse sources, e.g. from households, because of the adverse
indirect effects of waste on public health and hygiene, and so
on. Where business generates waste, there is a responsibility
on them to take the lead in efficiently managing any impacts and
disposal. We monitor activity across the sector to establish where
good progress is being made and, where this is not the case, will
seek to establish whether or not there is an identifiable market
failure and if and/or how this can be corrected.
As in the case of overall resource efficiency policy,
we are focussed on identifying evidence of market failures such
as misaligned incentives, where detrimental outcomes fall on individuals
or organisations that were not the source of the action or where
the regulatory framework may be ineffective.
2. 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 governmental departments and ensuring
consistency of approach in terms of legislation, policy, incentives
and communications. (Paragraph 22)
We agree with the Committee's view and reiterate
that Defra has not 'stepped back' from all waste and resource
management policy, but refocused activities in areas that only
Government can and must do.
Waste and resource management policy continues to
be a key priority for Government and Defra remain committed to
deliver a more sustainable economy where waste is treated as a
resource. Government is undertaking a number activities to deliver
this, for example we are considering measures to improve resource
efficiency, including looking at alternative business models,
promoting producer responsibility measures, working with the sector
to maximise the capture of quality recyclate, tackling food waste
and taking forward a programme of work following the publication
of the Waste Prevention Programme for England. We also continue
to work with the Environment Agency, in the performance of its
regulatory duties on waste activities and in tackling waste crime
and poor compliance, and with WRAP to support businesses, civil
society organisations, local authorities and households become
more efficient in the way that they manage and use resources.
Dan Rogerson, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
for water, forestry, rural affairs and resource management, remains
the Minister with the clear responsibility for resource use and
management policy. Through Defra's cross-Whitehall Resource Programme
Steering Group, key Government Departments continue to collaborate,
share and discuss key and relevant resource policy issues.
3. We urge Defra to work alongside WRAP and industry
to develop a comprehensive plan to be implemented in the event
that England's recycling rate continues to slow. We recommend
that Defra learns from successful approaches in countries such
as Wales and Ministers consider introducing refreshed policies
and re-introducing requirements such as statutory recycling targets
for local authorities alongside the requisite funding support.
(Paragraph 28)
The rate of recycling in England has increased four-fold
since 2000/1, thanks largely to significant public and private
investment, considerable effort by local authorities and to the
public and householders. The annual recycling rate for England
in 2013 was 44.2% but this hides considerable variation between
local authorities. Many local authorities have already surpassed
50% recycling rates and some have rates in excess of 60%. There
is therefore much that can be learnt from the highest performers
and scope for improvement at all levels.
We are committed to achieve 50% recycling of household
waste by 2020. We are working very closely with WRAP to review
evidence on barriers to further increasing recycling and to help
local authorities and householders to recycle more.
Waste is a devolved issue and we work with the Devolved
Administrations to monitor progress of the UK recycling rate and
to share learning. We believe that local authorities should lead
on determining the most appropriate recycling arrangements for
their area, taking into account local circumstances. The Coalition
Government currently has no plans to reintroduce statutory recycling
targets for local authorities.
4. Defra should facilitate and encourage learning
from best practice actions to help local authorities gravitate
towards the best possible service in their area. Working with
the Local Government Association, we urge Defra to share information
on successful approaches with local authorities to enable them
to develop the most effective services for their particular local
circumstances. (Paragraph 35)
We agree with the Committee's view that local authorities
are best placed to address the specific challenges or barriers
to providing local recycling and collection services and for increasing
local recycling rates. We also agree that having greater consistency,
simplification and harmonisation in collection services, following
good practice, can help to overcome some of these barriers.
The Government is helping local authorities to improve
recycling performance by working with WRAP to promote best practice
and disseminate experience of high performers. We are committed
to reaching 50% recycling by 2020 and are investigating options
including improving communications and data capture. The Government
is also working with industry, local authorities and WRAP to establish
a more detailed understanding of local authority performance and
reviewing what more could be done to improve recycling.
5. We are concerned that, despite the significant
achievements of both organisations, Defra's funding for WRAP and
Keep Britain Tidy has reduced over recent years. We urge Defra
to increase the funding if evidence suggests it necessary in the
lead up to 2020. (Paragraph 40)
The Government, as with all sectors of the economy,
is facing challenging times and priorities must be made to ensure
that work undertaken makes the best use of public funding. With
that in mind, the Government continues to support the Waste &
Resources Action Programme (WRAP), essential to support businesses
in realising the benefits of resource efficiency and improved
resource management.
Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) is an independent charity
and has made good progress over the past four years in identifying
and securing alternative sources of funding to support its work.
We will continue to monitor local environment quality across England
and will commission specific projects as appropriate.
6. Communication needs to be tailored to local
circumstances but Defra should engage with local authorities and
provide support at a national level, particularly in relation
to common issues and problem areas. We recommend that Defra considers
compulsory publication of an annual Register of End Destination
of Recyclates by all local authorities and waste management companies
involved in the recycling chain, in order to improve access to
information and public confidence. (Paragraph 47)
The Government agrees that communications are essential
to support householders to recycle effectively and consistently.
Communications should be clear and simple, provide regular reminders
on recycling and should be tailored to local circumstances.
WRAP continues to provide this essential support
to local authorities on communications including research, resources
and other tools that are available for tailoring to local circumstances
through the Recycle Now website. The website includes a postcode
locator to assist householders in obtaining information on what
can be recycled locally. WRAP is currently reviewing the content
and materials within the Recycle Now website with a view to a
re-launch in the New Year. In addition to this, WRAP also has
information and guidance available to support Local Authorities
when reviewing their waste management services contracts in order
that they design and deliver efficient and cost effective services.
The Government recognises that there is considerable
interest from householder in the end destination of recyclates.
The Government agrees that more can be done to improve understanding
and access to information on this and we would encourage all authorities
to raise awareness and support public confidence in recycling.
That is why we support the Resource Associations End Destination
of Recycling Charter, which provides valuable transparency on
the recycling chain and helps to build public confidence. We currently
have no plans to introduce a compulsory scheme but we applaud
those authorities that have published information through the
Charter.
The Government is also implementing a new reporting
facility through WasteDataFlow to enable local authorities to
record the "flow" of waste more comprehensively than
before. A new question will be included known as "Question
100", which for the first time allows local authorities to
record all treatments and final destinations of residual, recycling,
reuse and composting waste through a single question. This allows
outputs from one facility to be recorded as inputs to another
facility to reflect complex treatment and disposal paths, and
generates more accessible and reconcilable data. A successful
voluntary roll-out to 59 local authorities in England from April
2014 is being extended to all local authorities from April 2015.
This will help provide transparency on the flow of materials and
compliment the End Destination of Recycling Charter.
7. We support Defra's Reward and Recognition Scheme
and expect Defra to use the results to identify and support best
practice schemes to be used as prototypes for other local authorities
to follow. (Paragraph 50)
We welcome the Committee's support for the Reward
and Recognition scheme. In 2012, the Government announced that
it wanted to encourage councils to pay people to recycle by rewarding
and recognising positive waste behaviours. Approximately £2
million was allocated for this and local authorities and community
groups were invited to apply to run the scheme.
We are currently in the second round of the scheme
and are working with Brook Lyndhurst, our evaluators, and local
authorities to ensure that the quality of the data provided by
the scheme is timely and robust.
In the first round, eight schemes to change behaviour
on waste were launched, including:
· Aire
Valley Recycling (AVR)—who offered community based shared
rewards distributed at two points in the year to maintain momentum
of the scheme going.
· National
Union of Students (NUS)—where students could sign up as
Eco-Power Rangers, attend communications skills training and become
recycling auditors for kitchens across all halls, with project
staff, once per term.
All the schemes used a variety of methods to monitor
and evaluate impact of their scheme. Of those involved in the
schemes, many respondents claimed that they were already recycling/reusing
and that the reward and recognition scheme did not make a difference.
While other respondents claimed that they already recycled but
that the scheme gave them 'encouragement' to recycle. The final
report will be published in the summer of 2015 and the results
will be used to identify and support best practice schemes for
other local authorities to follow.
8. In accordance with the waste hierarchy, we
encourage a move towards banning the landfilling of all recyclable
waste by 2025 as landfill should only be used for wastes for which
there is no better recovery option. However, any such proposals
must be signalled well in advance, with appropriate support and
alternative infrastructure put in place to guard against disproportionate
cost burdens. (Paragraph 54)
The Government believes that the most effective way
to reduce waste is to focus at the top of the waste hierarchy
with waste prevention and that landfill should be the last resort
for most wastes. We believe there are more efficient options than
restrictions in this area and evidence suggests that restrictions
would likely impose additional costs on businesses, particularly
SMEs.
The Commission has recently announced the withdrawal
of their proposal to amend EU waste legislation and for it to
be replaced by a new, more ambitious proposal by end 2015 to promote
circular economy. It is only once EU negotiations on any new proposal
have substantively concluded that we would have sufficient clarity
to consider what further action, including on support and infrastructure,
will be necessary to meet future EU measures. We look forward
to working with the Commission, the European Parliament and other
Member States to ensure a balanced package of proposals which
has ambition, is evidence based and feasible for all Member States.
9. Meeting a 70% recycling target in England for
all household waste by 2030 would be challenging but Defra should
aspire to achieve recycling rates at the maximum feasible level,
with or without European targets. (Paragraph 55)
We support measures to increase recycling and overall
resource efficiency, but we do not support stringent new targets
unless there are clear economic and environmental benefits that
exceed the costs. We will want to ensure that the Commission's
anticipated new proposal to promote circular economy will allow
flexibility, ensure that costs are justified by expected impacts
and create an environment that welcomes innovation.
10. We recommend that Defra analyses data on waste
flows and waste flow forecasts in order to provide the waste sector
with clear guidance on how much energy-from-waste infrastructure
capacity is needed in England to gain an optimal balance between
export and local treatment. (Paragraph 60)
In October 2014 Defra published analysis of future
waste arisings and infrastructure capacity requirements showing
progress against existing landfill diversion targets out to 2020.
In the longer term, the optimal level of energy from waste infrastructure
is heavily dependent upon any future landfill diversion and recycling
as well as waste prevention activity. It is only once EU negotiations
on any new proposal have substantively concluded that we would
have sufficient clarity to consider what further action, including
on support and infrastructure, will be necessary to meet future
EU measures. We look forward to working with the Commission, the
European Parliament and other Member States to ensure a balanced
package of proposals which has ambition, is evidence based and
feasible for all Member States.
11. We recommend that, in its response to this
Report, Defra include an assessment of the economic impact of
building the infrastructure needed to treat the RDF currently
exported compared with the economic impact of the current practice
of exporting RDF from England to other countries in Europe. (Paragraph
64)
The Government response to the call for evidence
on the Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) market in England was published
on 1st December.[1]
The Government and the Environment Agency are undertaking
a number of actions, such as through the Waste Crime Action Plan,
that will address the enforcement issues raised by respondents
to the call for evidence. We intend to further investigate the
feasibility of introducing a definition and standard for RDF,
including what it should cover and how it should be delivered.
We also propose to gather further evidence on the complexities
and practicalities associated with introducing a financial guarantee
system for the production of RDF. Together with the Environment
Agency, the Government is currently evaluating whether to introduce
checks to ensure that RDF producers have suitable contracts with
end-users in place when applying for a permit or requesting a
permit variation of procedure.
The response does not include an assessment of the
economic impact of building infrastructure to treat the RDF that
is currently exported. RDF production and export is closely linked
with domestic infrastructure capacity, which in turn, is dependent
on wider waste management issues of landfill diversion, recycling
and waste prevention. The anticipated new proposal to promote
circular economy from the EU Commission's may have an impact on
these issues. We will include the economic impact of building
infrastructure in our consideration of the action needed to meet
any future EU measures.
12. The Government must find ways of diverting
more food waste out of the residual waste stream by methods which
are economically and environmentally viable and suitable to local
circumstances. Where food waste is separately collected it should
be treated at local AD plants whenever possible to address the
problem of sourcing waste feedstock. (Paragraph 71)
The Government supports the application of the waste
hierarchy to food and waste prevention remains the priority for
action. For this reason, we have focussed support through voluntary
agreements with the grocery and hospitality sectors to prevent
food waste entering the waste stream. Between 2007 and 2012, the
UK has reduced levels of household food waste by 15%.
If waste cannot be prevented then the Government
considers that the next option should be redistribution. On behalf
of the Government, WRAP worked closely with industry to develop
guiding principles, case studies and research (published in March
2014[2]) to encourage redistribution
wherever possible. Building further on this work we will be holding
a roundtable meeting in the New Year to bring together representatives
from the food sector to discuss progress, and options for additional
action to increase the amount of surplus food which is redistributed
for human consumption. If not suitable for humans then it may
be made available for animal feed under strict conditions. WRAP
has recently published guidance to encourage businesses to increase
the amount of former foodstuffs to be used for animal feed.[3]
However, there will always be some unavoidable food
waste and Government support reflects the value of Anaerobic Digestion
(AD) has in diverting inedible food waste from landfill. This
in turn can generate biogas and digestate and avoid the greenhouse
gas emissions that are associated with the disposal of organic
waste to landfill.
The Government is also committed to working with
councils to make it easier to recycle food waste. As the Committee
concluded, there cannot be a one size fits all approach as local
circumstances require local solutions and a tailored approach
but the Government remains keen to promote good practice and look
at how food recycling can be made more convenient for residents.
WRAP have run demonstration projects on good collection practice,
and provide guidance and support tools for food service businesses
and local authorities considering separate food waste collections
that can in turn increase feed stock available to AD.
13. In order to improve the confidence of agricultural
customers and improve the stability of the market for digestate,
we recommend that further research is undertaken to determine
the long-term effects of AD digestate on the quality and composition
of soil and crops. (Paragraph 73)
The Government published its Anaerobic Digestion
strategy and Action Plan in 2011. Since then, the industry has
continued to grow at a dramatic pace, with the number of sites
increasing from 68 in 2011 to over 140, with many more in the
planning stage. Digestate is a significant product from this industry
and the continuing expansion of the AD sector makes it ever more
important that markets are developed that recognise the value
of digestate as a fertiliser. In recognition of this, the Government
along with partners in WRAP, WRAP Cymru and Zero Waste Scotland
invested in a four year research project (DC-Agri) looking at
the use of quality anaerobic digestate (biofertiliser) and compost
in agriculture, integrated with an extensive knowledge exchange
network. Activity in this area falls into three broad categories:
i. identifying potential markets;
ii. demonstrating the potential benefits of the
products;
iii. addressing concerns from stakeholders.
The results of this work show considerable benefit
for farmers when they use digestate in the right way. The Government
has ensured that the results and information from the project
are made widely available through the knowledge transfer programme
that accompanies the trial work. Further information on the DCAgri
project is available at
http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/digestate-compost-agriculture.
The Government is also pushing innovation in this
area by looking at options for digestate enhancement and will
maintain a watching brief on emerging issues to support robust
markets for digestate.
14. The Government should encourage the use of
heat outputs from incinerators for local district heating for
buildings and/or for industrial processes to gain maximum efficiencies
from incineration processes. Defra should explore the barriers
to using heat recovery and collaborate with DECC and DCLG to ensure
that Government policies, planning permissions, permits and incentives
are all aligned to enable higher efficiencies for incineration
plants. (Paragraph 76)
The Government fully support the use of heat outputs
from incinerators to gain maximum efficiencies from incineration
processes. The Energy from Waste Guide[4]
makes it clear that incinerators should look to utilising the
heat in addition to the electricity they generate in order to
maximise the benefits of energy generation in the longer term.
In 2013, Ministers held roundtable meetings with
the industry and local authority representatives to identify opportunities
and barriers to the development of energy from waste. A number
of barriers to the greater uptake of heat were identified. The
Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is taking the
lead on addressing these barriers. In particular, DECC's Heat
Network Delivery Unit is providing practical and financial support
to several local authorities whose heat network plans involve
the use of heat from Energy from Waste plants. In addition, DECC
is working with stakeholders on clarifying the support regime
available for energy from waste plants under electricity market
reforms and the Renewable Heat Incentive.
15. We urge Defra to ensure that waste sent to
energy-from-waste plants such as incinerators is only genuinely
residual waste. We ask Defra to assess whether the use of gate
fees is sufficient to achieve this aim and to confirm whether
additional interventions, such as regulatory requirements to remove
dry recyclables or higher gate fees have been fully considered.
(Paragraph 83)
Gate fees are one of the mechanisms used to ensure
that only genuinely residual waste is sent to energy from waste
plants. As stated in response to previous recommendations, we
are committed to working with WRAP and the Local Authorities to
increase recycling, meet the 2020 household waste recycling target
and prevent recyclable material from entering the residual waste
stream.
16. We expect Defra and DCLG to take action to
address the frequent occurrence of fires at waste management sites
and to support the development of the fire code of practice by
the Chief Fire Officers' Association. Defra must ensure that additional
resources are deployed in the best way possible to monitor and
enforce the conditions of the requisite permits. (Paragraph 89)
Evidence suggests the number of fires at waste management
sites has not increased. There is some evidence that the severity
of some waste fires is linked to poor performance by a small percentage
of operators. Addressing fires at waste sites is a pressing priority
for Ministers. Government has called for speedier and tougher
enforcement action by the Environment Agency to address waste
crime and poorly performing waste sites and the risks posed by
stockpiled wastes and recurring fires at waste management sites.
A series of proposals designed to prevent and tackle waste crime
and poor management were published in a letter from Dan Rogerson
to key waste industry stakeholders, dated 1st September. Defra
and the EA have set up a joint Waste Crime Action Plan project
team to agree and oversee delivery of the actions outlined in
the ministerial letter. Many of these measures are already underway
through increased Environment Agency enforcement. Defra is currently
evaluating the case for a number of regulatory changes that will
widen the scope of existing Environment Agency enforcement powers.
The Environment Agency has started to increase its
regulatory compliance and enforcement activity, particularly at
high risk waste fire sites. In September the EA identified 76
of these sites and they have since taken action to reduce the
risk of fire at these sites. 69 sites (85.5%) of these sites are
subject to current enforcement action. As far as possible the
increased costs of this compliance monitoring should be met by
the operators of poorly performing sites and the Environment Agency
is currently consulting on changes to its charging regime to reflect
this.
The Government welcomes and supports the industry
working together with Chief Fire Officers' Association (CFOA)
and the Environment Agency to develop detailed fire safety guidance
for operators to help them reduce the incidence and impact of
fires on these sites. The Waste Industry Safety & Health (WISH)
group recently published best practice guidance and the Environment
Agency has its own technical guidance notes on preventing waste
fires.
There may also a case for the relevant waste planning
authority to put local arrangements in place for consulting with
local Fire & Rescue Services at the planning stage. This could
optimise the location and fire prevention measures for new waste
management sites.
1 'Refuse-Derived Fuel: Defra response to the call
for evidence' is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/refuse-derived-fuel-market-in-england-call-for-evidence. Back
2
WRAP's 'Our guiding principles for redistributing surplus food'
is available at http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Our%20guiding%20principles%20for%20redistributing%20surplus%20food%20-%20v5%20(2).pdf. Back
3
WRAP's 'Animal Feed Guidance' is available at http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Animal_feed_info_sheet.pdf. Back
4
Energy from Waste Guide is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284612/pb14130-energy-waste-201402.pdf Back
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