The resources sector is infamous for its jargon, some might call it a rite of passage to anyone trying to join the party. Having started my resources sector career somewhere back in the 1990’s I am still amazed at the breadth of terms that have come, gone or still prevail.
But if I look to the most recent past, three TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) persist: DRS, EPR and UBC. They persist for some good and some bad reasons. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been ever present since the late 1990s when packaging producers (and others) were obligated to fund the recovery of packaging. Unlike many mainland European counterparts the United Kingdom opted for a tradeable evidence system; the PRN (Packaging Recovery Note) meaning that many local authorities’ packaging was preferentially collected and then sorted at a MRF (Material Recovery Facility), rather than sent to an EFW (Energy from Waste) plant. Of course EPR is currently in the midst of a long overdue revamp which should deliver a more literal interpretation of the ‘polluter pays principle’ than was ever the case to date. Maybe the future is looking up for local authority recycling services with an impending influx of private sector funding but knowing the machinations of public sector financing from my former life, what one hand delivers – the other is likely to take away. So it may end up a zero-sum game at the local level, but on balance the future system should mean that the public sector budget does not foot the bill, as much, we will see.
DRS (Deposit Return Schemes) remain the shadowy concept, much talked about but never invited to the party. You’ve probably got an uncle in the family who fits this bill! But concept is set to become reality if as promised Mary Creagh the recently appointed DEFRA Minister responsible for circular economy pushes through on the commitment to implement DRS for UBC (Used Beverage Cans) or used aluminium drinks cans as you may know them, plus PET (Poly Ethylene Terephthalate) bottles by October 2027. Only a near decade on from when the then Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Gove announced in March 2018 a consultation on the topic, stating
“It is absolutely vital we act now to tackle this threat and curb the millions of plastic bottles a day that go unrecycled”.
DRS of course will relieve local authorities of the burden (and revenue) from collecting v(ALU)able aluminium drink cans, but the reality is that DRS is just another form of EPR meaning that the polluter (producer) pays but in this instance for a separate reverse-vending based collection infrastructure.
So there you go, the three TLAs that define my recent career. And I can say with some confidence, and evidence to back it up – that when UBC is added to DRS it results in a WIN WIN, as littering rates are reduced, recovery rates are increased and overall circularity increases. Of course, the local authority world needs to be different, and five letter acronyms seem to be the norm, e.g. NAWDO and of course LARAC. All the best for a fruitful and circular future, a future where Novelis and our enhanced can-to-can (aka UBC) recycling plant in Warrington is poised to deliver to a ‘recycled in the UK’ closed-loop mandate.
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