Lee Marshall, Director of Innovation and Technical Services
Christmas came early for many at the start of the month with the government announcing the next steps for Simpler Recycling. And like a lot of Christmas presents there was that element of surprise as we all 'opened' up the proposals. The default recycling service has been changed to a twin stream system for the dry recycling, aiming to keep the 'fibre' stream of paper and card sperate from the 'container' stream of metal, glass and plastic (and cartons).
In a way it should not be a surprise as this was an intention that was outlined in the Resources and Waste Strategy when it was published six (yes I know, six) years ago. There was always the feeling that the previous announcement that rebranded the previous consistent collections into simpler recycling was more about politics with a big p than about sound recycling and waste management practise.
Overall, given where England is starting from, the change appears to make a sense and probably a pragmatic one. A return to a full source separated system was always likely to meet with some resistance, as equally was staying a fully comingled one. It does mean that the written assessment (what was referred to as the TEEP/TEP test) is now back and so local authorities or trade waste collectors will have to complete one of these of they do believe they cannot collect the fibre stream separate from the other dry materials.
It also looks like the policy will be well supported with tools available online and WRAP also being available for help and advice. This is another positive step and should help ensure that written assessments have a level of uniformity and consistency about them, Which will be needed if they are to withstand any challenge that they have only been done so a service change doesn’t have to happen, even though perhaps it could.
Perhaps the less welcome present was the confirmation that the March 2025 deadline for businesses have their core set of materials being collected remained. It will be very challenging for all businesses and wate producers to comply with this deadline. The corresponding change in Wales this year was supported by a wide ranging communications and publications campaign to get businesses aware and ready. There has been nothing started in England yet and little detail on what sort of communications will aid the sector in getting waste producers engaged and ready.
Some might argue that we have known about the deadline for a while enow so it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Others will rightly push back that deadlines have not been worth the strategy they have been written in the past few years and that the change in Government was a big reason to pause and wait to see what was going to happen. So in some respects there is an element of frustration that the sector is once again having to resolve problems not of its making and rush to implement after so many delays from policy makers.
There will no doubt be some in local authorities that are also frustrated that the deadlines for commercial collections and household collections differ. Those councils running trade waste services will have a lot of work in the next 18 months
planning and implementing operational changes to both trade and domestic collections. It had the potential to be easier and smoother if the deadlines aligned in March 2026.
Yet we are where we are. Which is a step further forward and with more clarity than we had before. Which is pleasing and was something that CIWM called for during the election campaign and once the new government were in post. Get stuff over the line we asked, and it is happening. So have we already had all or presents or do we get a bit greedy and hope that the new year will bring belated Christmas presents in the form of digital waste tracking and carriers, brokers, dealers announcements? As a sector we have been good this year so surely it is not too much to ask?