LAWR

NEWS ANALYSIS Are confusing collection schemes and 'green fatigue' turning householders off recycling? SITA UK's David Palmer-Jones was interviewed on a BBC Radio 4 programme in May about recycling. He argued that "green fatigue" was contributing to the stalling of the recycling rate. But has the UK's love affair with recycling ended or are house- holders just confused? Victoria Hutchin of Ricardo-AEA investigates further. he UK operates a star- tling array of different collection schemes ranging from fully commingled to fully source-separated, and many variants in between, and with an increasingly mobile population, moving between authorities, it is no wonder that confu- sion sets in. Added to this, on-pack labelling, whilst aimed at assisting members of the public to recycle, can further complicate matters. The labelling system currently lacks consistency with products made of the same packaging type, and widely recyclable, not all carrying the on-pack label, causing real problems where particular materials cannot be recycled within a resident's local area. Recycling systems are becoming increasingly complex as local authori- ties strive to maximise the amount of recycling they collect through a growing range of materials. In recent years collection systems have been broadened to include items such as batteries, small WEEE, mixed plastics and textiles, adding to the confusion around what can and can't be recycled, and often resulting in increased levels of contamination. I don't believe that the public are losing interest in recycling, but they may be increasingly confused by the complicated and variable mix of solu- tions on offer where they live and work. We have made all the easy wins, with the committed recyclers and easy to reach groups now on board with local services, but going beyond 50% may be hard for an average author- ity, at least without significant effort to understand why the scheme isn't working, which groups aren't involved, and what level of contamination are prevalent. This all costs money, and that is one thing local authorities just don't have! The Waste Framework Directive's requirement for separate collection of the four key material streams (paper, plastics, metals and glass) from January 2015 may further contribute to this confusion if authorities are required to change collection systems in order to comply with this legislation. This may particularly be the case for those councils which change from a commingled system to one which requires separation by the household- er. Behavioural change, and perception of the effort required to change to suit any new scheme, may prove to be a major hurdle in the coming months. A further complication is that resi- dents' views on collection systems cannot be taken into consideration when assessing if separate collections are required from January 2015. This is likely to further disengage members of the public if they are satisfied with their current service provision. This may well be the case for Britain's increasing number of Euro-sceptics, as they may see such changes as further interference by Europe. Local authority waste services are facing a real challenge brought about by budget pressures, incoming legislation and flat-lining recycling rates, so how can we address the problem of so- called "green fatigue"? Local authorities could look to increase the range of materials they collect, for example adding food waste services, to improve diversion from residual waste. Additionally, com- munications must play a vital role in 10 Local Authority Waste & Recycling July 2014 T July 2014 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 11 NEWS ANALYSIS re-engaging residents to recycle, particularly where service performance is falling, where new services are introduced, or when changes are made to collection arrangements. Less frequent residual waste collections, for example every three weeks, would force the recycling agenda fur- ther but may be publicly and politically unfavourable, there are test cases in Scotland and Wales right now and we watch with anticipation to see how they work out. Greater consistency in collection systems across the UK would greatly assist residents in understanding and participating in recycling, but with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland implementing their own plans for the provision of waste services, this may become increasingly challenging. Waste collection must be a locally driven service, react- ing to local demands, priorities and circumstances, but our current local authority boundaries (Anglo-Saxon in origin) and the number of small district councils does not accurately reflect a modern Britain. We need larger authorities (the next step in joint work- ing?), perhaps more unitary authorities, as happened with local government reform in Scotland and Wales, so that service decisions are happening at the right scale. This would definitely save money, enhance recycling performance, ensure locally appropriate solutions, and may even get us greater harmony. Perhaps I am a little more than a dreamer, but some form of local government review is definitely needed. The green fatigue that has been so heavily covered by the media of late, may be the result of austerity measures, govern- ment politicking and lack of leadership, rather than the public falling out of love with recycling. Level of commitment by the public is higher today than ever before. My colleague Adam Read appeared on a BBC local radio phone-in last month discussing the plateauing of house- hold recycling. After appearing on the show, he said he was blown away by the level of support, commitment and belief in recycling from the general public who took the time to call. We can build on this, and drive performance beyond 70%, but only if we stop making the life of local authority officers harder with continual political gesturing, and changing goalposts. Undoubtedly, householder confusion does pose a chal- lenge for the waste industry. However, with the recent upturn in national media attention that waste and recycling has received, it is clear that members of the public have a keen interest in these issues, and are far from apathetic about recycling! Victoria Hutchin is senior consultant at Ricardo-AEA Resource Efficiency and Waste Management. 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