The Environment Agency has written to businesses in the waste industry.
The Environment Agency has written to businesses in the waste industry, as well as local authorities, of their obligations to separately collect paper, plastic, glass and metal from January onwards.
The letter (viewable here) clarifies the requirements of the Waste (England & Wales) Regulations, which came into effect on 1st January. A spokesman for the Agency, said:
“The Environment Agency has written to remind waste collectors that they should collect recycled paper, glass, metals and plastic separately where this is technically, economically and environmentally practicable and necessary to produce high-quality recycling. These rules are being brought in as part of the Waste Regulations (2011) under the EU Waste Framework Directive. The aim is to help ensure that recycled materials are good enough to make new paper, glass, plastics and metal, so helping to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, help the economy and improve the environment.”
We welcome the introduction of the new requirements. As a society we must ensure that waste is treated as a vital resource and the first stage must be to separate, at source, wherever and whenever possible so that clean material is available for re-use, recycling or recovery.
We feel, at ecosurety, that we are leading the field in supporting manufacturers and distributors to be proactive and we are delighted that, with our support, many forward-looking companies are abandoning the traditional waste disposal to landfill approach and embracing effective resource management. Many of our clients have been pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of new systems and impressed by savings achieved – and of course they have pre-empted this new legislative requirement.
The letter (viewable here) clarifies the requirements of the Waste (England & Wales) Regulations, which came into effect on 1st January. A spokesman for the Agency, said:
“The Environment Agency has written to remind waste collectors that they should collect recycled paper, glass, metals and plastic separately where this is technically, economically and environmentally practicable and necessary to produce high-quality recycling. These rules are being brought in as part of the Waste Regulations (2011) under the EU Waste Framework Directive. The aim is to help ensure that recycled materials are good enough to make new paper, glass, plastics and metal, so helping to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, help the economy and improve the environment.”
Phil Newbury, Waste and Resource Manager at ecosurety, welcomed the introduction of the new requirements “As a society we must ensure that waste is treated as a vital resource and the first stage must be to separate, at source, wherever and whenever possible so that clean material is available for re-use, recycling or recovery."
"We feel, at ecosurety, that we are leading the field in supporting manufacturers and distributors to be proactive and we are delighted that, with our support, many forward-looking companies are abandoning the traditional waste disposal to landfill approach and embracing effective resource management. Many of our clients have been pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of new systems and impressed by savings achieved – and of course they have pre-empted this new legislative requirement”.
Robbie Staniforth
Innovation and Policy Director
Robbie is innovation and policy director at Ecosurety. Having spent years building an intimate understanding of the industry’s policies and politics, he uses this knowledge to help shape new legislation and oversees Ecosurety’s growing portfolio of cross-industry innovation projects including Podback and the Flexible Plastic Fund. He has worked closely with Defra during the most recent packaging consultations, outlining the impacts and required transitional arrangements of the UK’s new EPR system and is a member of the government’s Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP). He is also a spokesperson for the company and regularly uses his influence to communicate the importance of environmental responsibility to external stakeholders.
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