The responses given to the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package consultations by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) do not reflect the needs of the UK’s recycling industry, says the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM).

Defra published its responses to three European Commission (EC) consultations, covering the upcoming Circular Economy Package and waste markets, on Wednesday afternoon (11 November), but CIWM has said the responses ‘highlight Whitehall’s ambivalent attitude to green growth’.

The department urged the EC to focus on four key areas when developing the package, which is now due out on 2 December. These included: drawing on the principles of better regulation to reduce administrative burdens; approaching the circular economy as a whole; building on current measures and developing new ideas to keep materials in circulation; and working together with other parts of the EC.

However, CIWM, which represents waste professionals working in the sustainable resources and waste management sectors, today (13 November) expressed disappointment with the department’s response, with the lack of recognition of the need for ‘pull’ mechanisms to support recycling its main concern.

CIWM was one of six industry bodies to co-author a letter to the EC this week calling for effective demand-side mechanisms to be included in the Circular Economy Package. The letter, sent by the Trade Association Group (TAG), suggested that to stimulate stronger and more stable market demand for recycled materials, the landfill diversion and recycling targets likely to feature in the package must be matched by strong ‘pull measures’.

This call echoed a letter sent by the European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services (FEAD) in October, which questioned where the demand for additional materials would come from once their supply had been ‘pushed’ by increased targets.

Defra not recognising affect of ‘global market trends’

In a statement, CIWM’s Chief Executive, Steve Lee, explained: “CIWM is disappointed that Defra has not supported calls from our sector for more ‘pull’ mechanisms in the forthcoming [Circular Economy] Package to support increased recycling and embed more resource-efficient practices throughout the supply chain.

“Relying on the market is not sufficient; UK recycling is already going through a difficult time because of global market trends, increased commodity price volatility, and the low price of oil, and these challenges are likely to stay with us for the foreseeable future. Other UK governments are recognising this, Whitehall is not.

“The key is in the title – Circular Economy – and there are two sides to the story. Not only will the economic landscape for resources need to change, and that will require more direct intervention at least at the outset, but also the long-term economic benefits need to be recognised. The Defra response largely ignores both of these imperatives and highlights Whitehall’s ambivalent attitude to green growth and the uneasy relationship with Europe.”

The government’s full responses to the three consultations can be read on Defra's website.