The end of 2024 saw a pre-festive flurry of policy movement. Notably, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) released a policy update and laid secondary legislation on Simpler Recycling.
This outlined that the default requirement for households and workplaces will be to collect paper and card separately to other dry-recyclables – alongside residual waste and co-collection of food and garden waste.
This is a significant step as we strive towards circularity and one that is largely welcomed by industry, due to the superior recyclate produced as a result.
Although councils and other waste collectors will still have the flexibility to make the ‘best choices’ to suit local need. Written assessments to co-collect will be required from March 2025 or March 2026, depending on location. However, the key date remains 31 March 2026: when local authorities will be required to collect the core recyclable waste streams from all households in England.
This is, however, is subject to the outcomes of the upcoming Spending Review, which has now been pushed back to June. This will be one of the key moments of 2025, as it will set departmental budgets for the next five years.
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has asked departments to make 5% efficiency savings, cut down on a different type of “waste”, and told them to prioritise spending on policies that contribute towards the ‘Six Milestones’ announced as part of the Government’s Plan for Change in December last year.
Additional funding for waste and recycling services seems unlikely, as it does not align as neatly with the milestones as other policy areas do. However, the sector can play an important role in delivering economic growth, and of course will be front at centre of moving the UK toward a more circular economy.
In a transformational scenario, where additional investment in the circular economy creates a full sustainable economy, this could increase the total number of jobs created by ten-fold from the business as usual scenario, 40,000 jobs to a total of 472,000 new jobs by 2035.
One policy area where we may expect to see some additional funding is the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), which also has its secondary legislation laid recently and is full steam ahead for an October 2027 implementation. Albeit without Wales – who boast the best recycling rates of the home nations - which is going in its own direction.
2025 will also be a significant year for the devolution of powers in England to local-leaders. Launched towards the end of last year, the English Devolution White Paper, set out proposals for mergers and restructuring plans, which are being called for by mid-January. This is hoped to create efficiencies with economies of scale.
Of course, these efficiencies are not new to many of us in the sector, with many councils already working together in waste management partnerships to provide efficient and cost-effective waste management services on behalf of their residents. It will be interesting to see if these reforms lead to larger scale ‘recycling regions’, as two-tier areas move towards Unitary - or ‘Strategic’ – Authorities.
As we look ahead to 2025, with a circular economy strategy expected imminently from Defra, the waste and recycling sector stands at a pivotal juncture. The recent policy updates, such as Simpler Recycling and DRS, signal a strong commitment to advancing circularity and sustainability. However, it will still be a few years until these initiatives are introduced and making a difference.
Refuse and Recycling Collections - FCC Environment
