New plan for England is updated to include fresh policy developments and reflect UK's 2050 net zero commitment
The government has this morning published a roadmap that sets out how it plans to overhaul resource and waste management in England over the coming years to curb waste levels and create more circular material flows in support of the UK's net zero emissions goal.
The 2021 Waste Management Plan for England (WMPE) does not introduce new policies or changes to how waste is managed, but brings together current waste management policies under one national plan.
The government is obliged to publish a new WMPE every six years, and as such the new plan has been updated to reflect policy and legislation introduced since December 2013, when the previous WMPE was published.
This includes the major reforms to the England's waste system confirmed in the 2018 Resources & Waste Strategy, such as the introduction of extended producer responsibility for packaging, measures to improve consistency in household and business recycling collections, and plans for a national deposit return scheme for drinks containers.
The document has also been updated to reflect the UK's 2050 net zero emission ambition, in addition to the target to recycle 65 per cent of municipal waste and limit landfilling to 10 per cent of municipal waste by 2035.
"During the lifetime of this Waste Management Plan, we will see significant changes in the way we manage our waste going further to improve recycling rates," Environment Minister Rebecca Pow writes in the foreword to the new document. "Effective waste management can reduce carbon emissions from the waste sector contributing to government's net zero target and a green recovery."
In the strategy, the government highlights that major progress had been made in eliminating emissions from waste management over the last 30 years, noting that emissions from waste management, excluding energy from waste, have decreased by 69 per cent from 1990 to 2018.
It also highlights how further decarbonisation measures set out in the Resources and Waste Strategy will play an "important part" in helping the UK meet its ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. As such, the strategy details how plans to increase recycling rates, reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, and eliminate all biodegradable waste going to landfill should all help curb emissions.
The government introduced more information about how current waste management plans align with the UK's legally binding net zero target in the 2021 WMPE after a consultation that ran for eight weeks from last August on the draft plan revealed that industry, campaigners, and local authorities wanted the plan to include more information about how the government's waste vision linked with its decarbonisation agenda.
In the consultation, respondents expressed concern about the impacts proposals collated in the plan might have on consumers, business, and local authorities, warning the introduction of a deposit return scheme (DRS) could hurt local authority revenue and that the free collection of garden and food waste could create an additional cost burden for cash-strapped local authorities. They also said there was a need to ensure producers met the full net costs of the policies when extended producer responsibility is introduced for new materials.
In its response to the consultation, the government urged organisations, businesses, and stakeholders to take part in the second round of consultations on the DRS scheme later this year. "In adopting such schemes, as well as those for the separate collection for waste recyclables, the government remains mindful of the need to take into account effects on all communities, whether rural or urban," the government added.
There were also calls from respondents for the government to introduce a new section on emergency responses in the plan, in light of the disruption seen this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The government did not acquiesce to this demand, but said it would continue to provide guidance to help local authorities with waste collection services on the government's website.
The updated strategy comes as the government continues to face broad calls for it to accelerate plans to strengthen the UK's waste policy environment, following several years in which recycling rates have flatlined, reports of the on-going export of waste material, and this week's confirmation the landmark Environment Bill is to be delayed.