EFRA tells Defra to introduce annual Register of End Destination of Recyclates

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Defra should introduce a compulsory annual Register of End Destination of Recyclates, according to the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

The Committee argued in its Waste Management in England report that there is a lack of confidence among the public in the recycling process that also leads to more contamination of materials.

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It said that if all local authorities and waste management companies published the end destination of the materials, it would improve access to information and public confidence.

The EFRA Committee also said that the Government must do more to increase recycling rates across England by 2020 to meet European targets along with working towards more ambitious European resource efficiency aims.

MPs also called on the Government to ensure that only genuine residual waste is sent to energy from waste plants and to more to encourage heat outputs from this treatment method.

EFRA Committee chair Anne McIntosh MP (pictured) said: “Defra ‘stepped back’ from waste management at a time when we need both a more ambitious approach to waste management and stronger Government leadership to drive up static recycling rates in England and make better use of energy recovery options such as local heating for homes. Ministers must show that waste policy remains an important priority.

“On a household level there is too much confusion about what can or can’t be recycled – and very little confidence in the process. Communication must improve and be tailored to local circumstances, but Defra should provide support at a national level – particularly in relation to common issues and problems.

“MPs support the use of anaerobic digestion for processing waste, but not for use with purpose-grown crops. The Committee also warns that more work is needed to address the issues surrounding separate food waste collections.

“Too much food waste is sent to landfill, but separate food waste collections can be disproportionately expensive and difficult to implement in practice. The Government must find practical ways to divert more food waste out of the residual stream but in ways that suit local circumstances.”

View the EFRA report here