LAWR

BRIEFING 6 Local Authority Waste & Recycling February 2014 s in previous years, it's fair to say that 2013 was a mixed bag for the UK recycling industry. Looking back it does feel as if major progress was made in the last 12 months, but that there are still major hurdles to be overcome. From our own point of view 2013 was hugely successful for Eco Plastics. Having launched our Continuum joint venture in May 2012, we reached the milestone of processing half a billion bottles within a year. Not only a stellar performance by the team, but also a very positive sign for the wider industry I believe. In terms of industry milestones the UK has made significant progress towards the establishment of a mandatory Code of Practice for material recycling facilities. This is fundamental if we are to tackle the growing amount of contaminated material that reaches reprocessors and which has played a major part in shutting several businesses down in the last year. It is essential that Defra introduces a compulsory and unadulterated code as its first task this year. I am also heartened by the signs that Government is considering a review of the Packaging Recovery Note scheme. As I and many others within the industry have repeated over and over again, it is ludicrous that exporters are able to generate significantly more revenue for the same amount of material than domestic processors. The recent Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group's 'Exporting Opportunity' report suggests that Defra offset the PRN for any reprocessed content included in new products as a means of encouraging the use of recycled material, and I wholeheartedly agree. If we want a comprehensive and world-beating waste industry, we must allow UK processors to generate the revenues needed to finance the creation of new infrastructure, rather than subsidising the export of our feedstocks abroad. More generally the Government has now embarked on its pledge to tackle UK waste at source through avoidance. The Waste Prevention Programme for England, Defra's plan to support a resource efficient economy, was published last month and provided some welcome guidance on how consumers and businesses can reduce waste. However, the lack of formal prevention targets and any clear mechanisms to encourage the use of more recycled content in packaging will hinder progress towards a more sustainable economy. Of course the industry can do more to help itself as well. For too long we have restricted ourselves to buying and selling material on the spot market in the hope that we can generate better returns despite the fact that short term contracts make it difficult to predict future revenues with any accuracy. Our partnership with Coca-Cola Enterprises has shown clearly the value of a long-term contractual commitment, allowing us to raise the finance necessary to expand our processing plant and invest in new infrastructure. Investment is absolutely fundamental if we are going to create a 360 degree domestic industry. Our major customers require such commitment and we are encouraged by signs that our supply partners are moving towards similar arrangements. Another worrying trend is the household recycling rate. It has stalled alarmingly in recent years to the point where if we continue at our current level we will not only miss the Government's 2017 recycling goals but also our binding EU 2020 targets. I firmly believe that a campaign educating consumers about how the system works, what can be recycled and where their material ends up will quickly address the problem and lead to an improvement in the quality and quantity of material sent for reprocessing. Through our ongoing engagement and dialogue with stakeholders and Government it is clear that the industry has laid down the groundwork for these key developments, now we just need to make them happen. Less conversation and more action in 2014 please! Jonathan Short is deputy chairman of Eco Plastics. A Jonathan Short of Eco Plastics guides you through the trends and events that will be hot in the next 11 months. " In terms of industry milestones the UK has made significant progress towards the establishment of a mandatory Code of Practice for material recycling facilities " 2014 – Time to hit the ground running FLOOD ANALYSIS Local authorities absorb waste challenges posed by flooding After a terrible winter of floods and washouts, the weather gods have shown a little mercy and calmed down. But have you ever wondered what happens to the waste and recycling services in towns before and after floods? Liz Gyekye finds out. ne of the worst affected areas to suffer from the recent floods was Gloucestershire. The area was also affected by the summer washout in 2007. A spokeswoman from the Gloucester Joint Waste Team and Somerset Waste Partnership tells LAWR that "both Gloucestershire and Somerset have areas such as the floodplain of the Severn and the Somerset levels that flood periodically". For some residents it is accepted as a recurring hazard of where they live. People in, for example, Tewkesbury and on the Somerset levels who regularly get flooded usually move their belongings out of the way in advance. There are some properties on the Somerset levels where people effectively move upstairs for the winter. She says that disruption to roads is predictable, short in duration or very local, so they can usually work around these to provide a normal waste collection service. However, she adds: "Where damage has occurred, district councils help out were possible – in 2007 for example the major flooding in Gloucestershire resulted in several hundred tonnes of furniture, carpets etc being disposed of through the local authorities. In extreme examples such as 2007 the Government reimbursed councils some capital and revenue through 'Flood Recovery Grant' and 'restoration fund'." She continues: "Insurance-wise, it is very much advised that the insurer should inspect the home first before anything that might lead to a claim is discarded. While kerbside bins can be used for some flood related waste, the scale of damage in flooding usually means skips, bulky waste pick-ups by the local authority, visits to the recycling centre or use of commercial waste firms. Costs to householders are usually recoverable through the claim. Experience in Gloucestershire post 2007 was that some requests for service were still being made six to eight months later as insurance claims were settled. This makes it hard to determine the exact tonnages involves, but they were substantial enough to cause an obvious peak in tonnages for the initial month or so. Floods affected the Maidstone area when the rivers Medway and Stour overflowed and it also had to deal with resuming waste services after floods hit the town. A spokeswoman from Maidstone Borough Council says that residents' usual recycling and refuse collections were largely unaffected during the flood period and the vast majority of collections were made as expected. The Maidstone area was one of the first to be hit by the floods. As part of the post flood recovery process, Maidstone Borough Council had to remove debris and flood-damaged bulky goods free of charge for those residents and businesses affected by the floods. Crews with large vehicles were regularly attending affected areas to collect items such as damaged white goods and carpets. Residents could also contact the council to arrange the collection of used sandbags. But can damaged items be recycled in anyway? Worcestershire County Council is a disposal authority. Waste services manager Richard Woodward says that it would be difficult to reuse damaged sofas, fridges and carpets. He says that some waste electrical and electronic equipments items could be used if they are broken up. However, there are also items damaged by default and hygiene issues to reconsider. Giving advice to councils facing flood challenges, Woodward explains: "You have got to be adaptable at the time. You may want to relax permit systems for vehicles coming into HWRCs, shortly after the floods have taken place and relax the frequency of visit times." It seems that in most parts of the UK, floods did not affect waste and recycling services which is testament to the contingency plans local authorities put in place. A spokeswoman from the Gloucester Joint Waste Team and Somerset Waste Partnership concludes: "Regarding contingencies for natural disasters, we have plans and communications strategies in place for dealing with severe weather, particularly around communicating to the public what can be expected if collections are missed. Somerset and Gloucestershire did a simultaneous 'desk top' exercise in mid- December using the same snow event scenario. This was to check readiness for distribution of messages, rearranging vehicle deployment (e.g. use of garden waste vehicles for catch up of general waste collections) and arranging staff overtime etc. "More generally all councils have 'civil contingency' arrangements in place which kick in when we have extreme weather or a major incident." 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