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NEWS FOR MORE NEWS AND ANALYSIS VISIT www.edie.net /waste Industry 'upset' over prevention plan The waste management and resource industry has expressed disappointment at Defra's longawaited Waste Prevention Programme because of its lack of targets. As part of the new Programme, a new Sustainable Electrical Action Plan will be developed to encourage businesses to design products to last longer. A new £800,000 Community Partnership Fund will also be made available to help local authorities, business and civil society organisations take action on waste prevention. In addition, a new postcode locator will help people find out where they can get things repaired or pass on things for others to buy. Resource Management Minister Dan Rogerson said: "Preventing waste from being produced in the first place is not only good for the environment, but for the economy and household budgets too. "That's why we are making it easier for people to find out where they can get things repaired or pass on things they no longer use. "Everyone has a role to play in reducing waste and I want to see businesses helping consumers and the environment by designing products to last longer and using resources better." According to Defra, there are a range of steps that the government has already taken to help reduce waste, such as the Love Waste Hate Waste campaign, which helps people reduce the amount of food waste they produce, while the Courtauld Commitment helps companies reduce the amount of packaging they use. The Waste Prevention programme builds on the success of these initiatives, encouraging and supporting action by businesses and consumers to benefit from waste prevention. However, industry heavyweights have said that the new plan lacks ambition. Criticising the Programme, Resource Association chief executive Ray Georgeson said: "The Resource Association is disappointed but unsurprised at the lack of an overall target for waste prevention in England and wonders how easily this sits alongside the specific targets set separately by governments in Scotland and Wales." Keep Britain Tidy also expressed disappointment. Evidence and policy manager Tim Burns said: "England is often quoted as leading the way on waste and resource issues in Europe but we have seen this leadership rapidly erode since the Coalition Government took power." Roy Hathaway, policy advisor for the Environmental Services Association, said it remains to be seen whether Defra and WRAP have the political will and the resources to follow up their ideas and make them happen. Kerbside collection of plastics 'not enough' to meet recycling targets The provision of kerbside collection infrastructure alone will not allow the UK to reach its 20132017 plastics packaging recycling targets, according to a new report from Recoup. The report, entitled UK Household Plastics Collection Survey, provides a review of the infrastructure in place and informs stakeholders on the core raw data and information such as current plastics packaging collection levels and performance against the UK 2013-2017 plastics packaging recycling target. According to the research, with 96% of local authorities providing a kerbside collection scheme for dry recyclables that includes plastic bottles, the average plastic bottle collection rate per household has only experienced modest increases in recent years and has plateaued. "This is evidence that the provision of kerbside collection infrastructure alone will not allow the UK to reach the 20132017 recycling targets," Recoup stated. "The barriers to increased collection need to be clearly identified and addressed, to ensure all householders are using the service provided for dry recyclables, and that all plastic bottles and as many other plastics requested by the local authority are placed in the recyclables collection container." The UK is now in the first year of the government's five-year recycling targets for packaging waste for 2013 to 2017, and the UK's recycling performance will be judged on increasingly tough targets, and the real focus is on plastics packaging. Industry expert Paul Levett told LAWR: "It is indeed true that changes are needed to the MSW collection system in order to increase volume (recycling rate has plateaued in England) and to improve quality." Online Exclusives Bag charge Local authorities should be responsible for enforcing the plastic bag charge due to be introduced in England in 2015, according to Defra. The measure is proposed in Defra's call for evidence into single-use plastic carrier bag charges for England. England will be in line with the rest of the UK when it introduces a 5p charge on plastic carrier bags in October 2015. Search 'Bags' AD helps circularity Anaerobic digestion has a critical role to play in an emerging circular economy and must not be overlooked, leading environmentalist Tony Juniper has warned. According to Juniper if anaerobic digestion reached its potential, the nutrients from food waste alone would be worth over £200m. Search 'Anaerobic digestion' Green fence barrier DS Smith has welcomed China's green fence policy and said it will help to improve the quality of recyclates. Search 'Green fence' Retail Supermarket giant Tesco said it is looking at options to encourage people to buy the "old, ugly, misshapen" fruit and vegetables that tend to go to waste. Tesco group food sourcing director Matt Simister said domestic consumers were unwilling to consider imperfect fruit and vegetables and were contributing to food waste. Search 'Tesco' To read the full stories go to www.edie.net/waste edieWaste Helping people make business sustainable January 2014 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 5

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