Following the decision of the Judicial Review last month in favour of Defra and the Welsh Government, the Campaign for Real Recycling (CRR) has decided not to appeal the decision.
Mr Justice Hickinbottom ruled on 6 March at the High Court in Birmingham that the amended Waste Regulations (2011) now fulfil the requirements of the European Commission’s revised Waste Framework Directive.
As a result of this, the CRR has said that those members who were claimants in the case have decided not to appeal the decision.
In a statement, the CRR said: “Although CRR is disappointed in an outcome that does not fully address all the important issues raised, we feel it is now in the best interests of the secondary resources industry to draw a line under this matter. Consequently, we will not make an application to appeal this particular decision.
“Our overriding objective throughout this process has been to maximise the value the UK gets from its recovered resources. CRR maintains that this is best achieved through the separate collection of recyclables, where technically, environmentally and economically practicable. However, we are pleased that the originally contested Waste Regulations were revised to better reflect this. In addition, we look forward to contributing to any future guidance that sets out criteria for this requirement of the regulations.
“The legal process prompted by CRR has successfully focussed action on recyclate quality. This issue is now much better understood by the UK’s secondary materials supply chain than when the Judicial Review was first sought.
“As an industry, we have a collective responsibility to ensure the public has confidence in what we do with the recyclable materials that they provide, particularly in light of other recent court proceedings. On this basis, CRR will continue to assiduously engage with other stakeholders to ensure recyclate quality remains centre stage during the current consultation on the MRF Code of Practice, as well as the development of a Quality Action Plan.”
