UK ministers urged to communicate ‘vision’ for recycling

The UK Government’s ambitions to reduce the environmental and economic costs of waste are under threat due to a lack of clarity and delays, according to a Parliamentary watchdog.

Parliament’s influential Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report expressing concerns about uncertainty over the Government’s delayed collections and packaging reforms programme and its long-term planning. PAC says such uncertainty could prevent the Government realising its ambitions for reducing the environmental and economic costs of waste.  

The report finds businesses and municipalities are unable to prepare for the required changes due to a lack of clarity on what form the reforms will take and the impact on local authority funding. Without clarification, it says, councils cannot invest and improve their recycling services and have to delay procurement.

It warns there is a real risk this would result in insufficient facilities to deal with the increased volumes of recycling coming from the reforms, meaning that more plastics will be incinerated, taken to landfill, or exported to other countries than before.  

‘Simpler recycling‘

While a policy of ‘simpler recycling’ is expected to increase recycling rates to 52% – 60% by 2035, PAC warns that without successful contributions from other projects, the environment ministry (Defra) will not reach its 2035 target to recycle 65% of all municipal waste.  

The delayed implementation of the first part of Defra’s reform programme to 2025 is partially to allow councils time to prepare but PAC notes that two years after the end of Defra’s consultation on simpler recycling, no requirements have been published.

PC chair Meg Hillier MP says it is vital the Government encourages a circular economy to meet its targets. ‘Without a clearly communicated vision from Government on how these crucial reforms will work in practice, it’s unlikely that these targets are reachable.

‘Delays to the programme mean that businesses and consumers can’t prepare for the upcoming changes, which could mean that even more plastic is sent to landfill in the long term.’