To receive a presentation from Chris Noble, Head of Project Integra, on their
performance over the last year.
Minutes:
Chris Noble, Head of Project Integra, advised the Panel on a number of issues that would be influencing Project Integra’s activities over the coming months.
At a National level, the Framework for Greater Consistency in Household Recycling in England which had been published by WRAP in October 2016 had the vision that:
“By 2025, packaging is designed to be recyclable (where practical and environmentally beneficial) and labelled clearly to indicate whether it can be recycled or not. It is a vision where every household in England can recycle a common set of dry recyclable materials and food waste, collected in one of three different ways”
As a result it was expected that all households would be able to recycle the same core set of materials; there would be fewer collection and sorting systems; and there would be a common container colour system. There had been some progress on the introduction of the consistency framework, and Project Integra had responded to the recent consultation on bin colours.
Members were aware, from recent media reports, of other potential initiatives to reduce the use of disposable cups and bottles, and to improve the rate of recycling of plastics. In addition, Defra had called for evidence on a potential deposit return scheme for plastic bottles, glass, cans and cartons. Project Integra had submitted a response, emphasising the need for any decision to be evidence based. Other developments included the recently announced 25 year Environment Plan to eradicate all unnecessary plastic waste by 2042 and the new Waste and Resource Strategy to be published by Defra in 2018.
The European Commission also had proposals to amend 6 waste-related Directives to create a circular economy for resources, to boost recycling, secure access to raw materials and create jobs and economic growth. Negotiations were continuing, with the target level for recycling, likely to be 65-70% the current focus for negotiation. It was expected that these amendments would be adopted into UK law irrespective of Brexit.
Recent changes to the materials that China would accept for recycling would undoubtedly affect worldwide recycling markets, although Project Integra was not currently using the Chinese markets.
Analysis of the contents of a sample of black plastic sacks in 2015-16 had established that 8.5% of the contents should already have been placed in the clear plastic sacks for recycling, while a further 19% consisted of materials that were potentially recyclable, including through other routes, such as glass, batteries and garden waste. Other potential markets were being explored by Project Integra, but under the Whole System Cost approach adopted by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Authority Chief Executives in January 2016. A number of topics were under consideration including the configuration of the Materials Recycling Facilities; the materials that could be collected for which there were markets; and the working relationship between the waste collection and waste disposal authorities.
For the future, Project Integra’s focus would be on waste prevention, in particular seeking re-use rather than the disposal of bulky household items and reducing food waste. There would also be an initiative to promote behaviour change in local people to improve compliance with waste reduction and the recycling of materials. Hampshire would face many challenges, including the projected growth in new households, up to 60,000 across Hampshire, of which 40-50% could be flats.
In answer to questions the Panel was advised that:
· The Council’s procurement policies encouraged the use of recyclable materials, but sometimes this option was not available.
· Service delivery models elsewhere, that achieved higher recycling rates, were being evaluated, but Project Integra must operate within the current infrastructure and contract that ran until 2030.
· There may not be cost-effective end markets available for some materials such as the plastics in pots, tubs and trays.
· Although the Chinese market for recycling materials was being restricted, other markets in southern and south eastern Asia were opening up.
· Current legislation did not provide enough leverage for the use of recyclable materials.
· The re-use of electrical items through diverting them to charities who could arrange for them to be PAT tested before disposal was an option for the future in the Forest.
· The reduction in the use of printed newspapers had significantly reduced the demand for recycled paper in this Country, although other parts of the world still published a higher proportion of newspapers.
· The New Forest was currently achieving a recycling rate of 30%, with the Project Integra Partnership as whole achieving 38-39%. The best authorities nationally achieved 58-59%.
· Home composting was encouraged and although normal composting only dealt with uncooked materials, there were systems, such as green cones, that would compost cooked materials.
· Insufficient information was available to demonstrate whether a deposit return scheme would be viable.
The Chairman thanked Chris Noble for his presentation.