Today (14 June), MP Jo Churchill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) addressed the Chartered Institute of Waste Management’s (CIWM) Resourcing the Future conference in a keynote speech.
Churchill stated that Defra is ‘committed to exploring options for the near elimination of biodegradable, municipal waste to landfill by 2028’. She noted the quantity of food wasted every year in the UK – 4.5 million tonnes – adding that much of this material ‘ends up in landfill’ and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaking more widely on the Resources and Waste Strategy, the minister said that measures within it will “have a direct impact on carbon emissions, including making it easier for households and businesses to recycle their waste and reducing the extraction, and use, of raw virgin materials.”
She continued, emphasising Defra’s desire to “make recycling easier and make sure that there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England.” Churchill highlighted the recent consultation on separate food waste collections, as well as the incoming deposit return scheme, extended producer responsibility legislation, and the plastic packaging tax.
Concluding the speech, the minister said that Defra will introduce a green packaging waste recycling rate target for each material type across the UK.
WRAP keynote speech
Julie Hill, Chair of WRAP, followed the minister in a keynote address. Speaking at the conference, she described how WRAP has reoriented its vision to ‘bear down more forcefully on the climate consequence of consumption.’
Presently, Hill said, the issue of consumption is ‘inadequately’ reflected in policy. She noted WRAP’s efforts to put food waste and consumption on the COP26 agenda, with the issue ‘barely figuring’ on the final main agenda and being ‘massively underplayed in international terms.’
Looking at policy in England, Hill stressed the need for more progress: “We're still not setting targets for resource productivity, or anywhere near targets for consumption, and we still only have a proposition about holding residual waste.”
She continued: “It's difficult to target and measure resource productivity. But we do know how to do that – there are ways to do it. And to have a carbon metric – we're still talking about weight. To still be talking about weight of waste – as the thing we're focusing on after all this time – does seem to me that we haven't moved forward very much, when we have the tools to do that.”
Hill added that ‘there are still more people that this message needs to get to’, remarking that ‘our top politicians, when talking about climate action, tend to don hi-vis and hard hats and talk about infrastructure, but are not often seen at community fridges or repair cafes.’
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.