DS Smith attends Parliamentary Seminar on Sustainable Resources
On 23rd March 2016, DS Smith were pleased to attend the All-Party Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group (APSRG) seminar ‘Spotlight on the EU Circular Economy’ in Westminster. Part 1 of a planned series, this particular seminar focused on the regulation of a circular economy and what the UK will need to consider in order to improve our ability to achieve recycling targets.
Whether the UK stays in the EU or not, it’s important to discuss the future of the circular economy – especially in light of the fact that England’s recycling rate has actually dropped in the last year.
The main questions for discussion were:
- What policy levers are needed in the UK to achieve the recycling targets that are outlined in the EU Circular Economy Package?
- How would the “promotion of economic instruments to discourage landfilling” function within the UK?
- How can ‘waste’ definitions and harmonised calculation methods for recycling rates be improved?
- What economic incentives for producers will encourage greener products being put on the market, and support recovery and recycling schemes in the UK?
Thinking in circles
The circular economy is a growing topic of discussion across the UK and the EU, forming the central focus of many seminars, conferences and opinion pieces. Concerns over population growth, resource scarcity and environmental impact are at the forefront of how governments and businesses approach their supply, delivery and waste management systems.
Unlike the traditional linear economy, which has been called ‘take, make, use, lose’, the circular economy focuses on keeping the value of resources in the economy for as long as possible. This includes:
- designing products to be repaired, rather than replaced at the end of a short lifespan.
- encouraging the reuse and repurposing of items that have reached the end of their lives.
- enabling the collection and recycling of materials that cannot be reused or repaired any longer.
A circular economy will reduce usage of virgin resources, reduce the waste produced by the whole economy, reduce consumption of energy and water, and improve the quality of materials that pass through the reprocessing system.
The EU Circular Economy Package proposes measures that are designed to pave the way for member states to move away from linear thinking.
As well as setting EU-wide targets for recycling and limiting landfill, the package encourages:
- promotion of economic instruments to discourage landfilling
- measures to promote reuse and stimulate the supply cycles that would see one business’s waste treated as another’s raw material
- economic incentives for producers to ensure that their products are as sustainable as possible, and that they support recovery and recycling schemes.
The APSRG seminar focused on the circular economy and how it might be regulated in the UK. The topics discussed included producer responsibility, industry and technological innovation, the role of legislation, issues with current infrastructure, and how we calculate and define our targets – and whether those calculations are useful, or need to change.
A wide-ranging discussion followed three presentations that set out different perspectives on the Circular Economy Package. The issue of material quality was raised several times, with Mark Dempsey adding that instead of incurring a cost, HP’s WEEE material now attracts a revenue because it is of the right quality.