Summer’s always a strange time in the policy world. What seems like should be a quiet time with the four UK parliaments going into recess, inevitably becomes quite productive in terms of engagement and planning.
I’ve had my fun for the summer, two weeks in Cyprus in June, an afternoon of music in Hyde Park in July, and this past weekend at Donington Park to see the British Touring Car Championship. It will be no surprise to anyone in the sector (only to the poor people who were with me) that I carried a subconscious awareness of the different waste and environmental approaches for each. At Donington, appreciating the possible irony of looking at bins and waste when overpowered fuel powered vehicles are doing laps of a track for fun whilst planes from the airport next door roar overhead, the organisation had been mastered – with tens of thousands of people over the space of a multi-mile long circuit, with campers and campsites, shops and food stalls, yet little to no litter. Credit where it’s due!
Back in our world of policy, Welsh Government has stirred the UK Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) pot with its consultation on implementing a different scheme in the country to that of the rest of the UK. We will be pushing forward to meet and discuss with Welsh members in September to discuss the proposal’s impact on local authorities. A Member Briefing on the consultation has been made available here.
We have also continued our engagement with material groups, regulators and enforcement bodies. As well as our monthly meetings with both DEFRA and the Environment Agency (EA) on the implementation of Simpler Recycling in England, we have started to have regular catchups with both the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), on the expansion of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), and PackUK on packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR). Meeting reports, as always, can be found on the LARAC website, here.
We have had interesting material specific discussions with Alupro, British Glass and REA. Fingers crossed these conversations and sharing of ideas will help to enable local authority’s greater and easier access to resources, as well as addressing material specific challenges as policy develops.
So, as summer begins to pass, I get to go from one circuit, Donington Park, to another, the run of events the sector organises from September. I will be speaking at the North East Recycling Forum (NERF), be at the LARAC Lounge for the RWM Expo, and, of course, be at the UK Conference celebrating LARAC’s 40th Anniversary in early October. Excited to see everyone there and also welcoming the LARAC Scholars for the year ahead!
