Food waste caddies and clear packaging labelling in plans to boost recycling

Updated

Every home will have weekly food waste collections and packaging will be more clearly labelled to show if it can go in household recycling bins under plans set out by the Government.

The new waste and resources strategy comes after the latest figures for England revealed household recycling rates have all but flat-lined in recent years, and amid widespread concern over waste such as single-use plastics.

The strategy will make it easier for people to know what they can recycle wherever they live in the country, with more consistent schemes from council to council.

Producers will pay the full net costs of disposing or recycling their packaging, up from a contribution of just 10% currently, and money will go to councils to help them improve waste and recycling systems.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove
Environment Secretary Michael Gove

With the industry having to pay higher fees if their products are harder to reuse or recycle, it is hoped the move will encourage more sustainable design.

And it will raise between £500 million and £1 billion a year for recycling and disposing of rubbish, the Environment Department (Defra) said.

Manufacturers could also have to pay for dealing with waste textiles, vehicle tyres and mattresses, in the same way they currently do for items such as batteries and electrical goods.

The Government will introduce a consistent set of recyclable materials – for example card, tins and types of plastic – which all councils will be expected to pick up from homes and businesses.

Consistent labelling will be developed on packaging so consumers know if they can put it in the recycling bin, which could be a simple as a “green dot” on items that indicates they can be recycled.

And it will include a weekly collection of food waste from every household, as well as a potential return to free garden waste collections for households with gardens – many of whom have seen charges introduced as spending cuts bite.

Cutting food and greenery from black bin waste will help meet targets to ensure zero food waste is going to landfill by 2030 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites.

The plans are all subject to consultation in the new year.

Ministers are also set to consult on a deposit return scheme to boost recycling of bottles, cans and disposable coffee cups, and to introduce annual reporting of food waste by businesses – with mandatory targets if progress is not made on curbing the problem.

Speaking at a visit to Veolia Southwark’s integrated waste management facility in London, Environment Secretary Michael Gove said: “We really need to shift the dial on recycling and our strategy will help make that happen.

“We’ll make sure producers pay more in order to use the material that goes to generate all this waste.

“And we will use that money to ensure that across every local authority, we’ve got a more consistent approach to recycling that will help citizens know exactly what they should put in which bin.

“As a result, we will improve recycling in this country and use all resources more efficiently.”

While Mr Gove acknowledged there would be some people who objected to the plans, he believed the public wanted to see the Government step in and invest in making recycling “easier, more consistent and environmentally responsible”.

He added: “It’s absolutely vital we make sure, in particular when it comes to food waste which is an environmental, moral and economic scandal, that we do take the steps necessary in order to ensure that we use the material that all of us generate far more responsibly.”

Waste and resource company Veolia’s chief technology and innovation officer Richard Kirkman described the move to make producers pay for dealing their waste as a “game changer”.

And he said: “We’ve all grown up over the past 20 years with different collection systems in different parts of the country, with different bins, and materials have different labelling on them to tell you if they can be recycled or not.

“It’s now time to make collections more harmonised across the country, so wherever you live you know what you can recycle, it’s time to put in food waste collections, it’s time for industry to start paying for some of the materials it produces.”

David Palmer-Jones, chief executive of Suez recycling and recovery UK, said making the system more harmonised would make recycling “clearer and easier” for consumers.

And he said reforming the schemes to make producers more responsible for packaging and other items, if done correctly, “could provide better funding for council and commercial waste collection and sorting services – improving recycling, while minimising the cost to consumers and tax payers”.

Martin Tett, environment spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents town halls, welcomed the moves for businesses to pay the full cost of recycling or disposing of their packaging.

But he warned: “Moves to standardise waste services, including weekly food collections, need to be fully funded.

Plastic bottles stock
Plastic bottles stock

“Not every council area is currently able to recycle everything due to long-term contracts being held with different companies with different infrastructure available.

“Therefore, upfront funding is vital to making this work.”

He added any new system must be phased in over time and councils allowed to make sure their local services worked for residents.

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