Archived press release

Joan ruddock to introduce new recycling bill

26 November 2002

Joan Ruddock MP is to introduce a new Bill to Parliament [1] to ensure that every household is supplied with a doorstep recycling service, Friends of the Earth announced today. The Labour MP for Lewisham Deptford, who was drawn fifth in the Private Members Bill ballot, will introduce the Doorstep Recycling Bill, early next year. Tomorrow (Wednesday) the Cabinet Office Strategy Unit is expected to publish its review of Government waste policy.

The UK has one of the worst recycling records in Europe [2], recycling only around 11 per cent of domestic waste. Austria, on the other hand, recycles 64 per cent. The current waste strategy is unambitious, aiming for 30 per cent of domestic waste to be recycled by 2010. Friends of the Earth is calling for that target to be raised to 50 per cent.

Under new EU legislation the UK must ensure that less than a third of domestic waste goes to landfill by 2020. At present it’s around 81 per cent. But, assuming the UK meets its recycling target and complies with EU legislation, the UK will still have a large quantity of waste that won’t be recycled, and can’t be landfilled. It had been thought that this shortfall would be met through incineration, but this ‘solution’ has proved deeply unpopular with communities across the country. Concerned with threats to health and damage to the environment, many are now fighting proposals to build new incinerators.

The Government has commissioned a review of its waste strategy by the Cabinet Office Strategy Unit. The results are expected to be announced on Wednesday 27 November, to coincide with the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget statement, when he is expected to announce a rise in the landfill tax and more money for recycling.

Joan Ruddock MP said:
“The UK has one of the worst recycling records in Europe. We only recycle about 11 per cent of our waste while some of our European neighbours such as Austria recycle more than half of theirs. People in my constituency and elsewhere want to recycle and do their bit for the environment. By ensuring that every household has a doorstep recycling service the Doorstep Recycling Bill will make recycling as easy as putting out the rubbish.”

Friends of the Earth’s recycling campaigner Mike Childs said
“It is crazy that so many valuable resources are thrown away or burnt when they could be recycled. Successive governments have acknowledged the need to dramatically increase the amount we recycle, yet have consistently failed to deliver. The only way to reach the recycling levels needed to deal with our waste crisis is through providing householders with a convenient doorstep recycling service. We are delighted that Joan Ruddock is sponsoring this bill, which we hope will command unanimous cross-party support.”

Friends of the Earth is calling for

• A recycling target of 50 per cent by 2010, 75 per cent by 2015 with the ultimate aim of zero waste;
• A legal obligation on local authorities to provide a weekly doorstep recycling and composting service.
• An extra £200 million a year for recycling;
• Local authorities to be allowed to charge people for the amount of waste they throw out - but only when a free comprehensive doorstep recycling and composting service is in place and other conditions are met;
• An increase in the landfill tax of £10 per tonne in 2004 with an increase in the landfill tax escalator of £5 per year from 2005 onwards;
• the removal of subsidies from incineration and the introduction of an incineration tax;
• the introduction of a moratorium on incineration and incentives for the development of small-scale plants to take the recyclables out of residual waste and treat the rest before landfill.

Notes

[1] 383 MPs have backed calls for a doorstep scheme for every household either by signing a pledge or signing a Parliamentary Motion (EDM 186). The Doorstep Recycling Bill is also supported by the Community Recycling Network and Waste Watch.

[2] EU recycling league table
(Source: Environmental Signals 2002 - European Environment Agency, except where shown).
64% Austria (recycling 24 %/ compost 40 %)
52 % Belgium (37 %/15 %)
48% Germany *
47 % Netherlands (24%/23%)
39 % Denmark (25%/14%)
33 % Finland (30%3%)
33 % Sweden (25%/8%)
27 % Spain (16%/11%)
16 % Italy (7%/9%)
14 % France (8%/6%)
11 % UK (9%/2%)
9 % Portugal (4%/5%)
8 % Greece (8%/0%)

* 1996 (source: Resource Recovery Forum Warmer Bulletin). Figures for Ireland and Luxembourg not available.

[3] Regional household recycling rates in England 2000/01 by region

South East 16.4 % East 15.1% South West 15 %
E Midlands 13.1 % W Midlands 9 % London 8.7 %
North West 7.8 % Yorks/Hum 7.2 % N East 4.1 %

Latest figures for rest of UK: Scotland 6.9% (00/01), Northern Ireland 5% (98/99), Wales 4.7 % (98/99).

A briefing on the strategy unit ’ s review is available from FOE/ follows. Facts and figures on waste and recycling are also available.

Waste facts and figures

Nine out of ten people in England and Wales would recycle more waste if it was made easier according to an Environment Agency survey (EA Press Release 23 May 2002).

Around 80 per cent of household waste could be either recycled or composted, dramatically reducing the need for landfill

The average household produces around a tonne of waste each year. The amount of waste produced in the UK is rising by over three per cent per annum.

In April this year, the Environment Agency warned that space for burying rubbish in the South East could run out within seven years. Northern Ireland has already exported some of its household waste to Scotland for landfill.

Incineration is deeply unpopular. Community groups around the country are opposing incineration proposals because of concerns about the risk to health and the environmental impact. Once built, incinerators need more and more waste, which could otherwise be recycled, to make them economically viable.

By 2020 the amount of UK municipal waste is set to double (Government Strategy Unit);

The UK uses over 6 billion glass containers each year, amounting to over 2 million tonnes. Less than quarter (22 per cent) were recycled in 1998. The European average is 50 per cent, with some countries recycling 80 per cent. (British Glass)

Up to 90 per cent of new glass could be made from reclaimed scrap glass. (British Glass).

Recycling aluminium can bring energy savings of up to 95 % and produce 95 % less greenhouse gas emissions than when it is produced from raw materials. (Alupro)

Around 20,000 tonnes of aluminium foil packaging (worth £8 million) is wasted each year. Only 3,000 tonnes is recycled.

Packaging is typically 25-35 per cent (by weight) of dustbin waste.

Plastic bags sent to landfill take around 500 years to decay. The UK uses 500 million of these each week. A tax on plastic bags in Ireland has resulted in a 90% reduction in their consumption. More than 9 million euros (£5.73 million) was raised during the first four months of the scheme. The money will be used to fund new waste management and other environmental initiatives. The ban was introduced in March this year. Shoppers are now charged about 10p for each bag they take from supermarkets and other shopping outlets. Before the legislation was enacted, an estimated 1.2 billion bags were handed out to Irish shoppers free of charge each year.

The Report of the Government’s Strategy Unit

The Government’s Strategy Unit is expected to publish its report on Britain’s waste crisis on Wednesday. The report’s recommendations have been widely trailed in the media, with suggestions of rubbish taxes, plastic bag taxes etc.

This briefing sets out the policy background to the report, forecasts its likely contents and sets out Friends of the Earth’s recommendations.

LIKELY CONTENTS OF THE STRATEGY UNIT REPORT

• A higher recycling target for 2015 – probably around 40 per cent, with an aspiration of 50 per cent by 2020 with perhaps even a long-term aim of zero waste to landfill.
• A promise to give every household a doorstep recycling service.
• An extra £100 million a year for recycling for the next three years.
• Announcement of a consultation on allowing councils to charge by the volume of waste people throw out.
• An increase in the landfill tax of £10 per tonne in 2004 with an increase in the landfill tax escalator to £5 per tonne from 2005 onwards.
• Announcement of removal of perverse subsidies from incineration.
• A tax on plastic bags? – unlikely due to Treasury Objections, but possible as a useful headline grabbing distraction from failing to deliver enough money, targets or household charging.
• Encouragement of new forms of disposing of waste (such as gasification or pyrolysis).

BACKGROUND

Last November Margaret Beckett held a Waste Summit to discuss what changes were needed to the Government’s one year old Waste Strategy to ensure that the UK met targets set out in EU legislation, notably the Landfill Directive.

The possibility that the UK might be fined £500,000 a day was widely promoted by the Government and discussed in the media. The sub-text to the day, which Friends of the Earth attended, was concern about the numerous campaigns across the country against incineration (especially the South East). It was reported that after the General Election, Tony Blair told Margaret Beckett that her two priorities were to sort out farming and waste.

Fear of negative newspaper headlines was therefore a key driver for the Waste Summit and for the review of the waste strategy (carried out by the Performance and Innovation Unit, now re-branded as the Strategy Unit). The Strategy Unit report is expected at the time of the Chancellor’s pre-budget speech.

This briefing provides background information on the three key issues the Strategy Unit report has to address; Europe, money and targets. Links for further information are provided at the end of the briefing.

EUROPE

Waste policy in the UK is almost entirely driven by an EU agenda. It was an incineration Directive which closed down a large number of incinerators at the end of 1996. It is the Landfill Directive which is forcing a revolution in the way the UK deals with its waste. Future Directives, for example on biodegradable waste, will also have significant impacts.

The key Directives are:

• The Packaging Directive
  This is already in place and leading to some packaging recycling (especially of the packaging used to deliver goods to shops and supermarkets), it is currently being discussed, with amendments likely to be agreed early next year following conciliation between the Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The European Parliament is calling for 65% of packaging to be recycled by 2006: the Council of Ministers wants 55% recycling by 2008. Either will require more vigorous recycling of householders packaging.
  
  
• The Landfill Directive.
  Friends of the Earth were instrumental in getting this directive agreed in 1999. It requires that two thirds of municipal biodegradable waste (paper, food, garden waste etc) is diverted away from landfill by 2020. It also prevents the co-disposal of hazardous waste and other wastes in landfills. This was common practice in the UK and may lead to a shortage of disposal capacity unless hazardous waste is reduced considerably or more specialised landfills built.

  The Directive also bans the disposal of tyres in landfills. This could lead to mountains of very flammable tyres across the UK, posing huge environmental and health threats. The Department of Trade and Industry is in charge of tyres and has done virtually nothing on this for ten years: if tyre mountains do develop around the UK it will be important that blame is put where it belongs – i.e. not simply on the Environment Department.

• The Electronic and Electrical Waste Directive
  This Directive has just been agreed. It will lead to local authorities collecting more electronic waste for recycling. The law requires an average of 4kg of electronic waste per person per year to be collected by the end of 2006 with between 50-75 per cent of this waste to be recycled. In theory producers of electronic goods are to fund this, with those producing products that become waste quicker paying more. In theory this rewards product manufacturers who make electronic goods that don’t break quickly (the UK government fought against this incentive). This is a relatively un-ambitious target but nevertheless will have an impact in the UK.
  
  
• Biodegradable Waste
  The Commission has recently promised that it will produce a draft Directive on this topic by the end of 2004. Commission working papers suggest that it will require the separate collection of biodegradable waste from households and restaurants for composting. Urban areas of more than 100,000 houses will have three years after the directive has come into force to meet this requirement with areas of over 2,000 having five years. This Directive is likely to be agreed in 2007.
  
  

• Others
  In addition to this the European Commission is considering Directives on household batteries and household hazardous waste. It is producing a thematic strategy on resources. It will also be looking to deliver on its Earth Summit commitment to maximise recycling.
  

  In general the Commission is moving away from supporting incineration. It will be further pushed in this direction because of a recent ‘reasoned opinion’ from the European Court of Justice which says that incineration is a disposal method not a form of recovery, even if the incinerator generates energy.
  

MONEY

Strategy Unit report was originally due in June. It has been delayed partly because of protracted wrangling with the Treasury. Research commissioned by Friends of the Earth suggested that it costs about £17 per household to provide a separate weekly doorstep collection for dry recyclables (paper, glass, cans, etc) and biodegradable waste (food, garden waste). This is equal to around £375 million a year for England and Wales.

There is very little transparency on how much money local authorities are provided every year for dealing with waste, since it is subsumed into a general grant. This is one issue which the Strategy Unit will want to tackle. Friends of the Earth estimates that the annual short-fall is probably in the region of £200 million. The Government could find the money without resorting to increasing general taxation.

The options include:

• Reform the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme
  Currently waste companies are legally allowed to divert 20 per cent of their tax liabilities into “environmental improvements”. These include funding church renovation and local wildlife schemes. Friends of the Earth has criticised this scheme for being the largest tax funded public
  relations exercise in history. It costs about £100 million every year. The Chancellor could close this scheme and divert the tax revenue to recycling.
  
  

• Increasing the Landfill Tax, hypothecating the money to recycling When the landfill tax was introduced then Chancellor Ken Clarke reduced employers’ national insurance contributions at the same time.
  

  Subsequent increases in the tax have only really caught up with a short-fall in revenue. However the Chancellor is under pressure from the waste industry, local authorities and NGOs to substantially increase the tax. During his last budget he said he was minded to increase the tax. He is likely to announce an increase during his pre-budget speech. This could provide substantial revenues. He may also begin consultations on introducing an incineration tax, although this is less likely at this stage.

• • Allow charging by amounts of waste – known as variable charging This would allow local authorities to charge households by the amount of waste they throw out rather than a flat rate on council tax. It is common practice in many parts of Europe.

Again, the waste industry, local authorities and NGOs would be supportive of this idea, as long as a high quality separate household collection of recyclable and compostable waste is in place beforehand. The Treasury is also thought to support this because it could allow a shift over time to users paying for waste services in their totality, rather than the Treasury supplementing council tax charges. But Tony Blair is thought to be more nervous of tabloid headlines.

Blaby District Council has already successfully implemented a form of this charging with little complaint and cleverly side-stepping regulations preventing it. This type of charging will be necessary to reach high levels of recycling.

The Strategy Unit is also likely to suggest the Treasury consider product taxes (packaging, plastic bags) but is unlikely to suggest resource taxes (virgin paper, aluminium, etc) at this stage.

TARGETS

The last Government waste strategy was heavily criticised for failing to set ambitious long-term targets for recycling and composting. This left the door ajar for applications to build numerous large-scale incinerators. Time and time again, Environment Minister Michael Meacher has pleaded for the Government’s recycling targets not to be seen as a “ceiling on the Government’s recycling ambitions”. But time and time again local authorities have ignored his
pleading, proposed to do as little recycling as possible, and instead planned to build a big incinerator. The big incinerator companies have been willing partners in this, as long as they get 25 year contracts and a guaranteed supply of waste.

The Strategy Unit must set higher recycling targets for local authorities if the Government is to have any chance of meeting existing and future EU directives. It is difficult to see how anything less than 50 per cent by 2010/2015 could be adequate. Most NGO believe that 50 per cent by 2010 with a more ambitious target of 75 per cent by 2015 is achievable. Friends of the Earth and others suggest that society should ultimately aim for zero waste.

Whatever recycling targets the Strategy Unit suggest they will need to suggest the least bad option for dealing with residual waste. Friends of the Earth has helped fund research into this, suggesting that incineration and untreated waste going to landfill is the worst option. Pre-treatment of residual waste to remove recyclables such as metals and plastics, followed by composting the remaining waste appears to be the better option (with the composted waste going to landfill if necessary).

CONCLUSION

The Strategy Unit report will need to take account of existing and future EU directives as it makes its recommendations. This will require suggesting recycling targets of at least 50 per cent over the next ten years or so. Money is key, an extra £50 or £100 million just won’t do the job required. Whether New Labour will be brave enough to ride a tabloid storm to allow variable charging will be fascinating. The Strategy Unit will need to rule out large-scale incineration if it’s report is to get the support of numerous recycling groups across the country.

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH IS CALLING FOR:

• A recycling target of 50 per cent by 2010, 75 per cent by 2015 with the ultimate aim of zero waste.
• A legal obligation on local authorities to provide a weekly doorstep recycling and composting service. Friends of the Earth is pushing for a Private Members Bill on this.
• An extra £200 million a year for recycling.
• Allow local authorities to charge by the amount of waste people throw out but only when a free comprehensive doorstep recycling and composting service is in place.
• An increase in the landfill tax of £10 per tonne in 2004 with an increase in the landfill tax escalator of £5 per year from 2005 onwards.
• Remove subsidies from incineration and introduce an incineration tax.
• Introduce a moratorium on incineration and encourage the development of small-scale plants to take the recyclables out of residual waste and treat the rest before landfill.

FURTHER INFORMATION

On the landfill directive:
www.foe.co.uk/resource/factsheets/eu_landfill_directive.pdf
On the Electronic and electrical goods directive:
www.eeb.org/press/press_release_electro_scrap_11_10_02.htm
On other EU directives:
www.foe.co.uk/resource/factsheets/la_recycling_eu_law.pdf
On plans for a biodegradable waste directive:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/report11.htm
On money needed for recycling:
www.foe.co.uk/resource/factsheets/recycling_local_authority.pdf

On variable charging:
http://www.esauk.org/pub/ernstandyoung.pdf
On how much could be recycled and what to do with the residuals:
www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/maximising_recycling_rates.pdf

For community campaigns against landfill or incineration:
www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/communities_speak_waste.pdf

To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust