How recycling legislation helps us effectively manage resources

There’s been a lot of talk so far this year about the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package – and whether or not the UK stays in the EU after Brexit negotiations, we need to keep talking about this important piece of recycling legislation.

The Circular Economy package sets out a recycling agenda for the next 15 years, providing targets, refining regulations and supporting voluntary initiatives to help member states move towards a circular economy.

Legislation for resource management

Resources management lies at the heart of the challenge to moving to a more circular economy – an economy where valuable materials stay within the supply cycle for as long as possible. New targets require that, by 2030, the entire EU achieves:

  • 65% recycling of municipal waste
  • 75% recycling of packaging waste
  • Only 10% of waste sent to landfill

We welcome the programme and the amendments to environmental laws that will help to boost recycling rates – but, like other commentators, we think it could have been more ambitious.

The Circular Economy Package complements and enhances the Waste Framework Directive and current laws for the management of waste. The EU Waste Framework Directive established the waste hierarchy, where waste is treated from a prevention point of view, followed by reuse and recycling. Landfill and recovery, at the bottom of the hierarchy, are considered the least favourable options.

The other main regulations are:

  • The Landfill Directive, which requires member states to minimise waste going to landfill, by pushing waste up the hierarchy
  • The Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive that sets out measures to prevent, reuse and recycle packaging waste
  • The WEEE (Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment) Directive aimed at incentivising improvement in the design of electrical and electronic equipment to facilitate recycling

Similar measures have been introduced with the End of Life Vehicles Directive, promoting reusability, recyclability and recoverability of cars and light commercial vehicles. All regulations promote prevention, reuse and recycling as the best methods to treat the valuable resources that exist in the economy.

Voluntary recycling agreements - will they work?

This year has also seen the UK launch of WRAP’s Courtauld Commitment 2025 – a voluntary agreement that aims for cumulative savings of around £20 billion. The Commitment brings together organisations to make food and drink production and consumption more sustainable. It is a ten-year commitment to achieve

  • 20% reduction on food and drink waste
  • 20% reduction in the greenhouse gas intensity of food and drink consumption
  • reductions in the impact of water use in the supply chain.

With the Courtauld Commitment 2025, WRAP wants to redefine the design, buying and sourcing of food, so that the supply chain can produce more while using fewer resources. It also aims to find ways to make the best use of surplus, and to help consumers to get the most value from the food and drink they buy.

It’s excellent that organisations are voluntarily committing to making a change, and are using their CSR policies to make a difference. But those organisations who have pledged to the Courtauld Commitment are those who already have the capability to make the change. What about those who don’t have the infrastructure?

Legislation and voluntary commitments working side by side

In order to truly achieve zero waste economies, we need legislation and regulation to work in conjunction with voluntary commitments. Wider national and international infrastructure that ensures long-term change is easier to build and to enforce if there’s support at a regulatory level.

Legislation can push towards compliance while voluntary agreements pull.

From interpretation to regulation

That’s not to say that legislation, simply by its very existence, will solve every problem.

In January 2015, the separate collection of paper, plastics, metals and glass was introduced for municipal and commercial waste in the EU. DS Smith supports this legislation, as source-segregated recycling is the way to achieve the cleanest, best-quality materials for reprocessing. This drives materials up the waste hierarchy, and ensures that resources remain within the economy for longer as they pass through reprocessors again and again.

There is still discussion about how the January 2015 legislation is applied and enforced across EU member states. Local variations in interpretation in different countries can significantly affect the material that’s collected for recycling – to the extent where huge volumes of recyclable materials are still being burned or sent to landfill.

Proper enforcement, therefore, needs to support legislation by regulating the way the law is applied to business, whatever their national or international borders. That’s something that many commentators have found lacking in the Circular Economy Package.

The importance of recycling legislation

At DS Smith, we operate across Europe and beyond into global markets, so we’re experts in EU recycling & waste legislation – and its local interpretations. We know that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, despite the wide reach of the legislation, so we’ll always advise on the best way to collect your materials, and how to get the most value from your waste streams.

Every organisation, no matter its size, has a legal responsibility to comply with environmental legislation. But more than that, organisations should care about what happens to their resources. Most companies would say that getting the most out of their resources is sensible – but they don’t always apply that thinking to their waste.

But best practice in recycling and waste management brings financial benefits to businesses. They can minimise their environmental impact right alongside making economic savings. Many companies we’ve worked with have found that their recycling programmes become a cost benefit, cutting down on waste production and disposal costs while increasing the quality of the recyclable material they’re producing. In fact, firms managing their resources effectively have been able to invest the income from their recycling programmes back into their businesses.

That’s what recycling alegislation and regulation will improve for organisations of all sizes. When the infrastructure exists to push and pull toward sustainability goals, that’s when we will start to achieve a world with zero waste.

 

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