The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is calling on stakeholders to respond to a discussion paper aiming to clarify the application of the definition of waste for reuse and repair activities.

England’s Waste Prevention Programme (WPP), published in December 2013, identified clarification on the impacts and approaches to the definition of waste as a ‘priority for action’.

Currently, if a product or material is intended for disposal, it is considered by regulators to be waste, and handlers of the product/materials need to be regulated and/or permitted to move it. However, some stakeholders responding to the WPP call for evidence argued that some products/materials may be discarded or classed as waste by one party, but would still have value if repaired and/or reused. As such, they argued that defining such material as ‘waste’ is erroneous and creates a barrier to those wishing to turn the material into a resource/product, as they are subject to a range of administrative procedures and costs.

For example, a company receives drums of chemicals, uses the chemicals and then has the drums picked up for cleaning and reuse. As the drums are not wanted by the company (just the product within the drums), the barrels are classed as waste, meaning regulatory controls kick in. As such, whoever collects and stores the drums prior to sending them back to the chemicals company must have the necessary waste permits, at additional cost.

Defra is now calling on stakeholders to submit their understanding of the situation by listing other examples where the definition of waste has acted as a barrier to reuse and repair activities (and what could be done to support growth in the sector), so that central government can consider whether any action needs to be taken.

It has argued that, to date, evidence suggests ‘it is not the definition of waste itself that acts as a barrier to growth in the reuse and repair sectors, but the interpretation of the definition, and the application of the regulatory regime’.

Following the receipt of these responses, Defra will pull together a working group in ‘winter 2014/15’ consisting of: the enforcement authorities; the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP); representatives of the reuse/repair sector; and the devolved administrations. The group will develop an action plan and trial approaches in different sectors to help remove barriers to reuse and repair brought about through the current application of the definition of waste.

Stakeholders are asked to send responses via email to Ibby Sanusi by Friday, 30 January 2015.

‘We need better regulation not deregulation’

The Furniture Re-use Network (FRN) has welcomed the review, agreeing that the barriers lie largely with ‘interpretation rather than the legal definition of waste itself’ and that changing the definition of waste ‘may open up the reuse market to… sham reusers and the illegal trade in what used to be waste’.

Craig Anderson, the CEO of FRN, told Resource: “Reuse is primarily not about waste; it is about a product continuing to be used through a secondary consumer – it just so happens that sometimes the product was found in the UK waste stream.

“Handling waste comes with a duty of care to ensure it is treated correctly and compliantly; reuse of waste or reuse of products follows and undergoes the same principle activities – treatment is checking, testing, repairing and assuring the product is fit for purpose and fit for reuse. The only difference is that if the product was waste, it is traceable as waste until it can be signed off and is ready for the shop floor again. A reputable reuser treats the product, whether it’s waste or not, in the same way – because they understand the product has a new market and those that understand that market want to protect it from bad practice.

“We are all for an easier life for our reuse sector, but at the same time, we need to look at the risks of potentially hazardous products and hazardous waste being abused by disreputable organisations in the waste sector – we need better regulation not deregulation.”

Read the discussion paperon clarifying the application of the definition of waste for reuse and repair activities.