When was DEFRA’s Simpler Recycling announced?
Over the last five years, the development of local authority waste strategy and procurement of best value medium to long term contracts has been frustrated by a lack of clear national level waste and recycling policy.
Waste Management Officers have grappled to understand a series of announcements on potential policy proposals, with uncertainty on which measures will be taken forward, a general lack of detail, and repeated delays to promised announcements.
This policy context has not provided the assurance that local authority decision makers require and one consequence has been delays to strategy decisions, a backlog of waste service procurements, and/or the letting of interim contracts which may not represent best value.
DEFRA’s Simpler Recycling announcement in October 2023 addresses this by providing a level of policy certainty which enables local authorities to review services, makes decisions that work towards a 65% recycling rate, and enter into new contracts that support objectives and offer best value.
Funding for mandatory food waste collections
Central government communicated funding allocations for food waste collection infrastructure to each local authority in January 2024, bringing additional certainty to preparations.
Integrating Simpler Recycling into the wider waste management strategy
An assumption of the Simpler Recycling announcement is that it enables each local authority to make decisions on how the requirements of the Environment Act 2021 are implemented. Undertaking a service and strategy review to interpret the requirements of the Environment Act and identify options is a useful first step. Such a review can include:
- How can additional materials specified in the Environment Act, such as films and soft plastics, can be incorporated into collection services and waste treatment arrangements;
- Service design options for household food waste; where not presently collected; and,
- How the policy commitments will impact existing commercial waste services. Indeed, authorities may want to consider whether the reforms to commercial waste provide revenue generating opportunities for trade waste services.
Implementation deadline for Simpler Recycling
The various implementation dates for the Environment Act reforms may seem distant, although the process of service review and options assessment, governance approvals, procurement of the preferred option and mobilisation has a lead time that can be up to 2 years in duration. The need to commence the process of service review as a precursor to strategy and procurement decisions is therefore urgent.
Consultancy support for local authority waste management
WRM have a team of specialist waste and resource management consultants with a wealth of experience in developing local authority waste strategy.
Our team have followed and been actively engaged in the progression of waste and recycling reforms since their publication in the Resources and Waste Strategy for England (2019). We understand the changes that are now required and the range of implementation options.
As a proud LARAC sponsor, WRM is offering all local authorities a free half-day Environment Act service review on a no-obligation basis.
Please contact us today to book your free consultation.
enquiries@wrm-ltd.co.uk / 01943 468138
