With all the focus on household recycling rates, business waste could slip through the cracks. But this year’s LARAC Conference saw recycling officers being asked to turn their attention to trade waste. Resource reports
Defra’s new recycling minister, Lord Taylor of Holbeach used the keynote address at this year’s LARAC Conference to announce the official launch of the Business Recycling and Waste Services Commitment, first mooted in this year’s Waste Review.
The new voluntary agreement sets out 12 principles of best practice that local authorities can use to tailor recycling services for local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Across the UK, SMEs are responsible for creating 30 million tonnes of waste a year; more than 50 per cent of this is recycled, but the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) claims that 90 per cent of companies would recycle more if they had better access to recycling services.
Launching the commitment, Lord Taylor talked about “ensuring businesses play their part” and the folly of “keeping household and business services so separate”. He added: “This deal will bring much-needed relief for smaller businesses that want to do the right thing but are struggling to get a decent recycling service. For the first time we’ve got a solid agreement between councils and businesses to make it easier and more cost effective for smaller firms to recycle more and improve their resource efficiency.
Councils that sign up to the agreement, developed by Defra in association with the FSB and with help from WRAP and the Local Government Association, commit to provide: reliable and regular waste collections; a collection service tailored to meet the needs of business; clear information about the council’s recycling services; support for businesses to recycle waste; contracts managed by following the principles of best practice; reasonable and clear fees; guidance on businesses’ responsibilities for managing waste; a directory of local waste and recycling services; help with donating unwanted items for reuse or buying quality second-hand products; a sensible approach to enforcement; easy ways to give feedback; and continuous improvement.
While around half of local authorities already provide some sort of trade recycling collection, launching or improving a business service – especially one that cannot be tied in to household waste collections – will undoubtedly incur costs for local authorities. LARAC’s response to the announcement, while supportive in principle, came with a financial caveat: “In many cases local authorities will need additional financial and human resources to implement trade recycling schemes – we would suggest that the government make part of the £250 million bounty, recently announced for weekly collections of ‘smelly waste’ from households, available to develop new trade recycling schemes – money where The Greenest Government Ever’s mouth is.”
According to WRAP’s Linda Crichton, in certain circumstances, councils do stand to gain financially from providing a trade recycling service: “Even at a time of spending restrictions, there are a number of incentives for local authorities to motivate them to put in place a strategy on commercial dry recycling collections.” Examples of such incentives include: reducing the misuse of household services by micro businesses; cutting down on flytipping (which costs English authorities alone £55 million a year!); and possibly generating income in instances where co-collection with household waste is possible.
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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.