Manufacturers’ organisation EEF believes that the government’s 2011 Review of Waste Policy in England should have done more to value the resources that can be found in waste.
The statement was made in an EEF report, entitled Defra’s Waste Policy Review — Six months on.
It was written in response to a government review of waste policies around the country, which culminated in a report published in June 2011.
According to the EEF, Britain exports 15 million tonnes of waste every year for recycling — which amounts to one sixth of its fossil fuel exports — including 7.5 million tonnes of scrap metal.
The organisation renewed its calls for the government to develop a clear resource strategy for the country that is informed by an analysis of how the UK’s resource management compares with that of other countries’.
Additionally, it felt that product-based standards need to be given an international context.
In terms of businesses, the report stated that: ‘Manufacturers need programmes and policies that allow resources to circulate easily within the economy and secure resources of the right specification for use.’
The EEF felt that the review failed to identify how such outcomes could be achieved and did not provide a long-term framework that would give firms the certainty they require to adapt and change.
It went on to say that the UK’s regulatory system hampers the transition to valuing waste as a resource because it is based on the practice of disposing of unsegregated waste.
As a result there are ‘convoluted legal arguments about the meaning of waste’, leading to a lack of clarity about which materials are waste and whether or not permits are required.
This leads to barriers in using waste as a resource. For example, wood chippings that could be re-used at equestrian facilities are being disposed of as it is unclear whether or not a permit is needed.
The EEF suggested that rules on defining and managing waste should focus on ways in which it can be used as a resource. Furthermore, it said that communication about what is permissible in waste regulation should be more transparent so as to encourage better solutions.
The organisation went on to state that producer responsibility policies need to be targeted at the areas where they are needed and then removed when ‘the outcome has been secured’.
In order to re-use resources, businesses also require local authorities and waste management industry services to respond to their needs.
The EEF’s report suggested that the recently announced ‘Business Recycling & Waste Services Commitment’ — which sets out the principles with which local authorities can make it easier for companies to recycle — should be made part of national policy and ‘not subject to local negotiation’. Currently commitment by local authorities is voluntary.
Although the report praised the ‘Responsibility Deal’ between the government and the waste and resource management sector, it criticised the fact that the improved service was mainly aimed at small and medium enterprises — rather than all companies.
Furthermore it recommended that the government consider a ‘commitment to inform companies of how much landfill tax they are paying’.
The government was also urged to involve manufacturers when assessing commitments made in the waste policy review during March of this year.