Gareth Morton, senior consultant, Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd, says with changes on the horizon not preparing the general public through effective communication would be a “collective failing and a scandal of epic proportions”.
These are, without out doubt, ‘interesting’ times for waste management in the United Kingdom, and it might seem that, with change on the horizon it’s a difficult moment at which to be communicating with the public about recycling and waste – but in fact, it’s a really crucial point at which to do so.
Few of the likely readers of this article will have missed the fact that Defra has produced its long-awaited resources and waste strategy, and with it some game changing policy initiatives for resource management – especially in England, which has lagged behind Scotland and Wales in its adoption of circular economy measures.
Many will have responded to the consultations that have recently closed, and will be thinking about the implications the new policies could have.
Assuming that the DRS is introduced, if the financial incentive is to work, people they will need to know what containers carry a deposit, where to get it refunded, and how to use any reverse vending machines the system provides.
Those policies most likely to impinge on public consciousness, at least when it comes to dealing with their waste are: proposals to increase consistency across England’s diverse local authority recycling services; and the introduction of a deposit return system (DRS) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland – Scotland having already decided to move forward with one. The Government plans to introduce the new service standards and launch a DRS in 2023.
The new service standards required of local authorities would, if adopted, mean a new wave of service changes sweeping across the country. More than half of English authorities currently have no separate food waste collection, while a quarter have no kerbside collection of household rigid plastics such as pots, tubs and trays and ten percent do not collect glass.
That will have to change – and people will need to understand their new services in order to use them properly.
Assuming that the DRS is introduced, if the financial incentive is to work, people they will need to know what containers carry a deposit, where to get it refunded, and how to use any reverse vending machines the system provides.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and a tax on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content should help reshape the market for recycled materials and transform the way waste collection and treatment is funded. Under EPR, by the end of 2022, producers will be bearing far more of the costs of meeting the packaging recycling targets than they do at present – which should also include the costs of communication.
That won’t just be current costs – it means the costs of sufficient communication to meet the targets.
The Lurking Problem
These three policies are clearly interlinked and the design of one could well impact on each of the others. Taken together, we can be certain that, come 2022–2023, we should see the start of a sea change in how the UK deals with its waste packaging. They are intended to bring England’s municipal recycling rate up to 65% by 2035.
However, the rate needs to be at 55% (based on a tougher measure of what counts as “recycled”) by 2025. For packaging, a range of material specific targets have been proposed, which equate to a total packaging target of 66% by 2025.
Herein lurks a considerable problem – the two years from 2023 when all new initiatives will be in force to the target year of 2025 is a very short window in which to orchestrate the significant changes in public awareness and behaviour that will be required.
We therefore need to be planning and acting now. The time up to 2023 must be viewed as a transitionary period and used to get up to speed so we hit the ground so fast we leave Usain Bolt gasping for breath. It’s either that or missing the targets.
There’s a great opportunity to communicate now, leveraging the growing environmental concerns expressed so eloquently by Sir David Attenborough and given a voice by people like Greta Thunberg and movements like Extinction Rebellion.
Of course, in the meantime, with the prospect of EPR funding and government transition support, cash-strapped councils are likely to be reluctant to invest their own scant resources. However, this would be both a false economy and a missed opportunity.
There’s a great opportunity to communicate now, leveraging the growing environmental concerns expressed so eloquently by Sir David Attenborough and given a voice by people like Greta Thunberg and movements like Extinction Rebellion. Wise investment in communications will deliver benefits now and leave us better prepared for the future.
For example, take contamination of recycling which delivers multiple hammer blows to local authorities through loss of recycling revenue, rejection fees at MRFs and finally, through additional disposal costs. Targeted, well planned investment in communications can reduce contamination and drive up recycling yields, both of which have immediate financial benefits, while moving us closer to the targets.
The public needs to be ready for changes in how things are done: communications are a key element of this, as well as being one of the easiest to implement right now. Not to do so would be a collective failing and a scandal of epic proportions.
