With less than a year to go, retailers are calling on Government
to urgently rethink crucial parts of its proposed recycling
reforms. Retailers are committed to reducing waste and packaging
and want reforms that truly deliver on these aims, but are deeply
concerned that the reform to the packaging Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR) scheme, which is due to come into force in
April next year, is fundamentally flawed. Without significant
investment in recycling infrastructure in Britain, households in
the UK could be footing the bill for EPR without any meaningful
improvements to UK recycling rates – a prospect which has been
absent in campaigning ahead of next month’s local elections.
Major retailers are calling on Government to fix the policy. At a
cost of at least £1.7bn per year, businesses want a world class
new EPR scheme that significantly increases the use of recycled
materials in new packaging as they try to meet their ambitious
sustainability goals. Unfortunately, there is little confidence
in DEFRA’s current proposals for EPR.
The proposals lack ambition and fail to set out how an effective,
efficient, national and fit for the future recycling system will
be created in the UK, including how EPR funds would be
ring-fenced to stop local councils diverting funds away from
recycling to other budget streams. Only by protecting these
recycling revenues will the UK be able to drive the scale of
investment needed to upgrade our recycling infrastructure and
deliver long-term growth for local recycling capabilities.
Retailers are also calling for changes to the way the system is
managed, to bring the UK in line with the best recycling schemes
around the world. High performing European and Canadian
programmes are industry-led, with businesses responsible for
running the system, to drive overall cost-efficiency and increase
investment that would ensure a reliable supply of recycled
materials are available for use in future packaging, all while
minimising the amount of waste heading to landfill. The current
proposals risk setting the UK back environmentally, and at a
significant cost to businesses, and consequently their customers,
many of whom are already struggling with the cost of living.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail
Consortium, said:
“It’s time that Government went back to the drawing board. We
have the opportunity to get it right on the future of a waste
management scheme that will determine UK recycling rates for a
generation. We want to see a scheme which improves recycling in
the UK and ensures a steady supply of recyclable material that
can be reused for future packaging.
“Under existing proposals, funding meant for UK recycling could
end up servicing local authority debt or be put to uses which do
not improve our national recycling infrastructure. Government’s
haste to introduce a new system is undermining the system itself.
It’s time to work with retailers and manufacturers to ensure the
public get a world class recycling system that collects and
processes as much recyclable material as possible.”
- ENDS -
Notes to editors:
With time running out, industry has set out six reforms needed to
create a waste management system that is fit for the future. This
requires:
-
Ringfenced funding to stimulate investment in the
recycling system – All funds generated by EPR must be
spent on the operation and investment in the UK recycling
system.
-
To be industry-led – Ensuring a cost-effective
system that promotes a circular economy where materials are
recycled, only to be reused as future recyclable materials.
-
A clear and workable plan for delivery –
Rethinking the current timetable to facilitate improvements to
the proposed system. Clearer information on the fees required
for different materials.
-
Co-ordination with other waste management
reforms – EPR only makes sense if
done alongside improvements to household waste collection. Once
this is in place, the UK should consider a new deposit return
scheme to fill any gaps.
-
To be cost-effective for households and
businesses – Given the £1.7bn expected cost of a
reformed packaging EPR, Government should link payments to
improvements in local authority recycling performance.
-
Alignment across local authorities and devolved
businesses – Alignment in recycling/
collection systems across the UK to help consumers recycle
effectively and allow national-level messaging on products and
through the media.
