Well, it looks like Spring is finally here and it is nice to get up in the daylight and start to enjoy a bit of sunshine!
As always, its been a busy few weeks. We submitted the final version of the LARAC response to the WEEE consultation and call for evidence, (which can be found here) and I’m looking forward to see how things develop, especially with regards to single use vapes, which the Government has now confirmed will be banned from 1st April 2025.
However, no sooner is one consultation over then others begin. One in particular we will be looking at developing a response to, is the Statutory Litter Enforcement Guidance (England only) which can be found here, which seeks views on how Local Authorities have addressed the updated 2019 enforcement guidance in relation to litter.
Enforcement is a tricky matter however, as even with additional enforcement powers, as we all know from our own waste enforcement experience within our Local Authorities, it is a very resource intensive activity and often only a small amount of issues can be resolved. The consultation states that,
“The need to pursue unpaid fixed penalty notices must be considered in the development of an enforcement strategy and the necessary resources made available. It is not acceptable for an authority to decide after a fixed penalty notice has been issued that it does not have the resources to prosecute if the notice is unpaid”.
This is of course easier said than done, and Government needs to understand that in order to employ enough resource to address all of the waste enforcement issues that arise, significant funding is required.
Away from policy issues, I attended the Food Waste Conference at the beginning of March, which featured some excellent speakers and topics, one of which was a speaker from the States of Guernsey. Guernsey introduced a pay as you throw system for waste in 2019, and now sees impressive recycling rates up to 70%, which shows that providing a small ‘stick’ to residents, does encourage positive behaviour change.
I can't unfortunately see this system being put into place in the mainland anytime soon, and in any case, we are still awaiting the outcomes of the Statutory Guidance consultation, to see what the Government's stance on residual waste frequency will be.
So, for the next few weeks I will be cracking on with all things waste, and speaking of cracking (eggs), I’ll take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Easter and a well deserved long Bank Holiday!
