The Oxfordshire Waste Partnership (OWP) has become the first partnership of councils to sign WRAP’s Business Recycling and Waste Services Commitment.
All six Oxfordshire councils (Oxfordshire County Council, Cherwell District Council, Oxford City Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council) have signed the national commitment to support businesses in their efforts to recycle and reduce waste.
The councils have pledged to provide access to recycling collections and other services that will help local businesses achieve this goal. This follows the government’s 2011 Review of Waste Policy in England, which encouraged local councils to sign commitments outlining plans to deliver waste services to homes and businesses.
Councillor David Dodds commented: “Most small businesses would like to be able to recycle at work as they do at home, particularly as the costs of sending waste to landfill is becoming ever more expensive. This commitment will help to improve recycling services, reassure people that their efforts to recycle are not wasted and ultimately save businesses money.”
Councillor Hillary Hibert-Biles, Cabinet Member for Growth and Infrastructure at Oxfordshire County Council, added: “Businesses benefit financially from operating more efficiently; reducing waste is an essential part of this. We can offer businesses audits and advice for reduction, a reuse website called retrader.org.uk and access to recycling services.”
In an effort to increase business recycling rates and ‘improve business customers' satisfaction with how their rubbish and recycling is collected’, local authorities are urged to ‘make recycling easy, provide value for money, consult on and clearly communicate services, reduce misuse of household services and reduce waste to landfill’ under the commitment.
Read more about the Business Recycling and Waste Services Commitment.
Crack down on food waste
In related news, in light of the ‘horsemeat scandal’ the OWP has now issued a plea to householders to avoid throwing away food and remember to recycle any food waste where possible.
Following central government’s lead in advising the public not to stop eating frozen food, Dodds, stated: “It’s important that the public take government advice, but we would like to remind people that all food waste can be recycled in Oxfordshire. Frozen meat products taken out of their packaging can be put with all other food waste, cooked or uncooked, in food waste bins.”
Food waste collected in Oxfordshire is ‘turned into compost, a liquid fertiliser and electricity’ at Agrivert's anaerobic digestion plant in Cassington.
Read more about theOxfordshire Waste Partnership
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.