After a seemingly endless wait, on Saturday, 21 October, the recycling and waste sector in England woke up to receive a response to the Simpler Recycling initiative, formerly known as Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England. You can read LARAC's initial reaction here and also catch up with our members briefings here.
We all understand that food waste has a massive carbon footprint. Most are familiar with shocking facts such as: If food waste were a country, it would rank as the world's third-largest carbon emitter, trailing only the USA and China. It is alarming that in the UK, approximately 6.6 million tonnes of household food waste is discarded annually, with nearly three-quarters of it being edible. These staggering facts emphasise the environmental impact of food waste, highlighting the need for effective strategies to tackle it. This is why weekly food waste collections have been mandated as part of the Environment Act 2021 so England can focus on getting food waste out of bins.
The government has set ambitious targets for waste management, aiming for the near elimination of landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste by 2028 and a 50% reduction in residual waste (excluding major mineral waste) per capita by 2042, compared to 2019 levels.
England's municipal recycling rate in 2021 was 46%, making it clear that achieving the 65% target set for the next 12 years will require substantial changes in waste management practices and will only happen with "radical change".
The Critical Role of Food Waste:
Waste composition analysis consistently reveals that a huge portion of household rubbish comprises food waste, estimated at around 40%. Remarkably, much of this food was still edible when discarded.
Weekly food waste collections will soon be commonplace, but unfortunately, this commitment might not result in high level service use. The primary reason behind this is the lack of motivation among residents to use food waste collection services. The government may implement "radical plans" to enhance recycling and embrace a circular economy. Still, the continued practice of collecting general waste bins on a weekly or fortnightly basis, with the disposal of their contents often in incineration or landfills, presents a paradox. Historically, local councils have had little incentive to encourage pro-environmental behaviours among their residents. To complicate matters further, the 'stick' approach, involving penalties or consequences for improper waste disposal, has also been removed from the equation. This absence of positive incentives and consequences makes driving positive change in waste management and recycling behaviours a tricky challenge.
England's journey towards effective waste management and sustainable recycling hinges on the need for innovative and motivating strategies. LARAC will be providing an evidence-based response to the Statutory Guidance consultation question on a maximum frequency of fortnightly for residual waste. We argue that our members should be able to decide on the frequency of collections for their local area and that the government should be behind local authorities' efforts to maximise resources and minimise waste.
