Archived press release

Waste Review must slash black bag waste

9 June 2011

The Government Waste Review for England, which is expected to be published within the next few days, is unlikely to help bring about the 'zero waste' economy promised by the Government and could even reverse some of the progress made under Labour, warns Friends of the Earth.

The consultation was launched last year with the aim of "taking the right steps towards creating a 'zero waste' economy, where resources are fully valued, and nothing of value gets thrown away", but speculation is growing that the review will be lacking in both ambition and detail. Environment Minister Caroline Spelman is expected to talk about the review in a speech on Tuesday (14 June 2011).

Recent developments have been discouraging. For example councils have come under Government pressure to end fortnightly waste collection schemes in favour of weekly ones - despite evidence that this would be more expensive and would reduce recycling.

The Government says the review will publish waste policy goals for 2014-2020. Friends of the Earth says these must include a commitment to halve household residual 'black bag' waste - rubbish that isn't recycled and is thrown away - by 2020, with a similar ambition for business waste.

Friends of the Earth's waste campaigner Julian Kirby said:

"This review is a golden opportunity to slash waste and boost recycling - but fears are growing that Government policies will reverse much of the progress made in the past 10 years.

"Households and businesses across the country want to cut down on the rubbish they throw out - Ministers must help by committing the UK to halving the black bag waste sent for disposal by 2020.

"A low-waste economy would create tens of thousands of new jobs, tackle climate change and save money for cash-strapped households and councils."

ENDS

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH'S WASTE BRIEFING

The past decade has seen a huge improvement in England's record on waste. After many years languishing at the bottom of the EU recycling league table, England now recycles over 40 per cent of its waste, a fourfold increase over the past decade. This has prevented the climate-changing emissions created when waste is buried and burnt, saved vast quantities of raw materials and helped create tens of thousands of new jobs. Around 120,000 people currently work in waste management.

But, with greater ambition, we could do even better. Recent research by WRAP says most people are 'committed recyclers.' But many are frequently frustrated by the amount of waste they deal with and by having to bin stuff that could be recycled.

However, England is still only aiming to meet the EU's minimum required target of a 50 per cent recycling rate by 2020. Wales and Scotland - which both currently have comparable recycling rates - aim to recycle 60 per cent of their waste by 2020, while Flanders in Belgium already recycles more than 70 per cent.

HALVING RESIDUAL 'BLACK BAG' WASTE

Huge quantities of valuable waste are still being thrown away and the Government's main challenge is to develop a strategy to eliminate this type of waste entirely.

There are numerous reasons for aiming to eliminate residual 'black bag' waste:

•  It's hugely expensive - and controversial. The landfill tax escalator ensures landfill costs won't fall beneath £80/tonne between 2014 and 2020. Incineration is costly too - both to operate the incinerator and find sites to build them, often against fierce local opposition.

•  It's extremely wasteful. Friends of the Earth estimates the UK buries or burns at least £650m worth of recyclable materials each year, while WRAP estimates we throw out a third of our food, half of which is edible, at a cost of £10billion every year.

•  It's an inefficient use of resources. It's costly to business and puts pressure on fragile ecosystems through raw material extraction and waste disposal. A recent UN report forecasts a trebling of global natural resource use by 2050 unless steps are taken to cut waste and boost efficiency.

BUILDING ON THE LAST GOVERNMENT'S SUCCESS

The Waste Review is a huge opportunity to build on the previous government's successes, and to drop some of the less helpful practices. Successes include:

•  A fourfold increase in recycling rates over the decade to 2010;

•  A stabilisation in the overall amount of waste that is produced;

•  A large drop in the waste sent to landfill.

Poor practice includes:

•  A growth in - and significant planned growth for - "energy from waste" incineration, largely been funded through costly and inflexible PFI schemes.
Incineration is high carbon and competes with waste prevention and recycling.

•  A focus on boosting the quantity of recycling while failing to consider quality. Too many councils have adopted "co-mingled" recycling collection systems that have led to poor quality recyclables that are hard to sell. The only market is often in low-labour cost developing countries. Meanwhile the UK has to import good quality recyclable materials from EU neighbours who operate systems where materials are sorted at the kerb side.

Friends of the Earth has campaigned for a 'zero waste economy' for many years, and warmly welcomed this as one of the Waste Review's central objectives. But concerns are growing that the Government may be aiming to create a 'zero waste to landfill' economy, where significant quantities of waste that could be either prevented or recycled are incinerated.

CONCERNS OVER CURRENT COALITION POLICIES ON WASTE

After some initial encouraging rhetoric confidence in the Government's attitude to waste has deteriorated. For example:

•  Councils have been put under relentless pressure by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to end fortnightly waste collection schemes in favour of weekly ones. However, estimates suggest this could cost councils £530m over four years, and cut England's recycling rate by five per cent:
http://www.endsreport.com/25096/return-to-weekly-collections-to-slash-recycling-rate

•  The annual rise in packaging recycling targets was halted to the dismay of business and environmentalists alike. There is also growing speculation that the Waste Review will simply be a series of case studies, with little if anything in the way of numerical targets or proposed regulations.

The Government's waste strategy is also hampered by the government's ideological reluctance to impose mandatory measures, such as requiring councils or businesses to act on waste

This places particular pressure on the Lib Dems who have traditionally been regarded as having the most sustainable policies of all the main parties on waste. But the party doesn't have a Minister in the environment department, and its influence on this issue is believed to be extremely weak.

The picture is further complicated by the Department for Energy and Climate Change's enthusiasm for meeting EU renewable energy targets through a massive expansion in waste incineration - despite the fact incinerators burn recyclable material and are heavy emitters of greenhouse gases.

WHAT FRIENDS OF THE EARTH IS CALLING FOR

Friends of the Earth is calling for a goal to halve residual 'black bag' waste by 2020, with a similar ambition for business waste. This should be achieved through a combination of increased recycling, waste prevention and re-use - rather than simply focussing on recycling.

The call is backed by a number of businesses, councils, organisations and networks, including Unilever, Sainsbury's, B&Q, Coca Cola Enterprises, the Federation of Small Businesses, WWF and the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority.

Friends of the Earth is also calling for:

·   An end to Government attempts to force councils into providing weekly bin collections. Fortnightly bin rounds are hygienic, cheaper to run and lead to more materials being recycled - provided they are accompanied by decent recycling schemes and weekly food waste collections.

·   Waste incineration to be phased out, and the end to the burning and landfilling of recyclable materials;

·   Greater effort - at local, UK and EU level - to prevent waste through improved product design and producer responsibility;

·   Support for business waste collection schemes, including a requirement on waste companies to offer cost effective recycling services;

·   High quality recycling collection and processing, with a preference for kerbside separation of waste.

 ENDS

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust