Waste Prevention Policy
Waste prevention policy review in UK and Europe
Within the UK, the reality is that waste prevention has historically been accorded a low priority. This is reflected in the fact that the research uncovers very few UK policies designed to directly target household waste prevention. However, a review of waste prevention policies in other countries reveals that Britain’s waste prevention policy mechanisms are not vastly different to other countries’. Our waste prevention policy is not weaker; there are simply differences in implementation, regulation and cultural factors including the current reluctance to charge householders for waste collection proportional to quantity. Of key importance is that household variable charging works in synergy with other policies, such as landfill bans, landfill taxes, and other waste prevention initiatives such as packaging take back and home composting promotions.
Waste prevention responsibility analysis in the UK
An analysis of responsibility for waste prevention policy in the UK shows that there is no shortage of organisations with responsibility for waste prevention policy, but that there are opportunities for greater government coordination and strategic focus in the delivery of policies and in the deployment of the necessary resources to follow through on their implementation. The relevant UK policy bodies then need to do more to deliver on their responsibility for waste prevention.
Future UK policy option analysis
The future policy options examined in this research, selected through a comprehensive stakeholder process, were:
| 1. | Implementation Plans for Waste Prevention |
| 2. | Inclusion of Home Composting in LA(T)S |
| 3. | Waste Prevention Targets and Residual Waste Levy |
| 4. | Low Waste Schools / Charging for Schools Waste |
| 5. | Junk Mail Policies |
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6. |
Mandatory Use of Rechargeable Batteries |
| 7. | Deepening Producer Responsibility |
| 8. | Collaborative Procurement |
| 9. | Minimum Standards for Appliances |
| 10. | Stimulating Re-use of Durable Goods |
| 11. | Extended Product Warranties |
The analysis of these potential policies in a UK setting provides the following messages:
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Between 120,000-220,000 tonnes of junk mail could be prevented each year through a combination of policies, saving the taxpayer between £15-30 million in disposal costs. These policies include mechanisms for direct mailers to bear the costs of disposal, a campaign to increase use of official opt-out schemes, greater use of suppression lists and legally binding “no thanks” junk mail stickers for letterboxes. These savings would be additional to current waste prevention agreements with the Direct Marketing Association. |
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Up to 250,000 tonnes of packaging could be prevented through alterations to the producer responsibility legislation on packaging currently in place: 1) UK packaging legislation aims to improve recycling, but doesn’t require producers to be directly accountable for their own waste; hence waste minimisation isn’t incentivised. A German ‘Green dot’ system where a sticky green dot signifies producer compliance with packaging quality or volume as well as recycling has been shown to decrease packaging by 15-20%. 2) The Packaging Essential Requirements policy means that one can report producers who over-package to Trading Standards Officers for prosecution. For this measure to reach its potential in the UK, a powerful education campaign is needed for the lack of public and SME awareness of this policy, and a significant increase of resources allocated to Trading Standards for training, inspection frequencies and man-hours for complex supply chain monitoring. |
| > | By looking at successes in Germany, a 25% reduction in waste from throw away goods may be achieved through the development of a legally binding eco-label similar to energy efficiency labelling that indicated low waste or durable products. |
Overall, waste prevention policy is an area that has received relatively little attention in policy terms – not just in the UK, but worldwide – and there remains significant scope for further innovation within this area.
You can find the full report here (.pdf, 4.20Mb) and more information about the project on the Defra website. You can also download the Summary Report (.pdf, 2.31MB) or specific sections from the full report below.