• Policy consultations associated with the Resources and Waste Strategy have been delayed, most notably on introducing Extended Producer Responsibility and introducing a Deposit Return Scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is hampering the pace of policy development in the sector.
• The National Food Strategy White Paper is yet to be published addressing the role of food waste.
• There is currently no comprehensive policy to address energy-from-waste (EfW) emissions, which are currently growing in the UK.

• Out of 20 recommendations for the waste sector, none have been met in full, with nine partially met, and ten not met.

• The Government should release any necessary secondary legislation or other policy instruments related to the Environment Act as early as possible to allow stakeholders sufficient time to prepare for their implementation.

• The National Food Strategy White Paper should be published with policies to reduce food waste

• There needs to be a policy direction to curb the rise of emissions from the energy from waste sector.

• The Government should outline a policy delivery mechanism on the banning of exporting plastic waste to non-OECD countries.

• The Government should work with the Environment Agency and industry to provide incentives to reduce process emissions from industrial wastewater plants. 

• Waste emissions in 2019 were 25MtCO2e, or 5% of the UK total (CCC Progress Report, 2021). 
• Emissions fell 2% from 2018-19 (CCC Sixth Carbon Budget, 2020)
• Major emission reductions will come from resource efficiency, increased recycling rates, reduced landfill waste, and falling energy-from-waste emissions 
• Current government ambition and policy in the areas of resource efficiency and waste is insufficient and limited and risk falling behind on the pathway to net zero 

1

Waste reduction and recycling

Accelerate investment plans for local authorities to be able to put in place universal municipal waste recycling collections, rolled out across England during 2022-24, along with the required recycling, composting and anaerobic digestion facilities.

Section 57 of the Environment Act sets out new requirements for separate collection of key recyclable waste streams for households, non-domestic premises and commercial and industrial premises in England. These streams include food waste, plastics, paper and card, metal packaging and glass. The Act also requires garden waste to be collected from households. The Government launched a consultation on ensuring consistency in household and business recycling in England, published in May 2021, closing on 4 July 2021. The net Zero Strategy states the Government are bringing forward £295 million of capital funding which will allow local authorities in England to prepare to implement free separate food waste collections for all households from 2025.

The Net Zero Strategy states the Government are bringing forward £295 million of capital funding which will allow local authorities in England to prepare to implement free separate food waste collections for all households from 2025.

Partly

2

Energy from Waste

Examine the impact of waste targets on the utilisation of (and need for further) energy from waste plants, and issue a set of guidance notes to help align local authority waste contracts and planning policy to these targets.

No

3

Waste reduction and recycling

Build on Resources and Waste Strategy for England, introducing greater ambition for efficiency in manufacturing, reduction in consumer demand and material substitution.

The Government has published the following consultations which flow from the Resources and Waste Strategy:

• A consultation on introducing Extended Producer Responsibility, published in March 2021.
• A consultation on introducing a Deposit Return Scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, published in March 2021. This would take effect potentially from late 2024 (this consultation was launched in 2019, to take effect from 2023, but has been delayed due to COVID-19).
• A consultation on the Waste Prevention Programme for England: Towards a Resource-Efficient Economy, published in March 2021.

Partly

4

Waste reduction and recycling

The National Food Strategy White Paper should include immediate measures to reduce food waste, and mandatory business food-waste reporting should be introduced.

N/A

5

Landfill and exports

Banning biodegradable waste from landfill by 2025 as a priority via prevention, re-use and recycling, without increased waste export and no more than 20% increase in EfW emissions.

The Net Zero Strategy states that the Government will explore options to achieve the near-elimination of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill by 2028 in England. However, the CCC recommended this be met by 2025 and cover commercial and industrial waste also.

Scotland have introduced a landfill ban on biodegradable municipal waste by 2025.

Partly

6

Landfill and exports

Export of waste should be banned by 2030, but full landfill waste bans should not be rushed and only enacted when residual volumes of waste have been lowered and CCS installed on remaining energy-from-waste plants.

The Environment Act contains powers under Section 62 enabling the Secretary of State to regulate the import, export or transit of waste and hazardous waste. The Government intends to use these powers to ban the export of polluting plastic waste to non-OECD countries, consulting with industry, NGOs, and local councils on the date by which this should be achieved. However, non-OECD countries receive only ~40% of the UK's plastic waste, and the ban does not cover other forms of waste.

For further detail see Policy Connect's report Plastic Packaging Plan: Achieving Zero Waste Exports.

Partly

7

Waste reduction and recycling

Recycling ambition should increase to 68% in 2030 in England, with 70% for NI and above 70% for Wales and Scotland.

The Government has committed to a 65% recycling rate by 2035 based on analysis of major waste reforms to achieve consistent recycling collections, a deposit return scheme for drinks containers, and packaging extended producer responsibility. They state that further analysis is required and further commitments for recycling will be considered for the next Environmental Improvement Plan.

Partly

8

Energy from waste

Need to prevent future growth in energy-from-waste (EfW) emissions (which continue to grow currently), by focusing on waste prevention, re-use and recycling, and fitting CCS to any remaining EfW plants. Current EfW plants under construction represent 3-10MtCO2e/y future emissions – we will need to either cancel many of these, have CCS applied soon, or reduce plant utilisation rates significantly. Any new EfW plants should be CCS ready, and built in areas where CCS infrastructure will be available soon.

In terms of reducing emissions from the energy from waste sector, the Net Zero Strategy states the Government’s approach in respect of this is still under consideration and they intend to provide further details later this year. There has been as of yet no policy developed by the Government to prevent the growth of EfW emissions. Wales will place a moratorium on any future large scale energy from waste developments.

No

9

Landfill and exports

New incentives are need for landfill operators to reduce emissions. The Renewables Obligation closed in 2017, which significantly reduced incentives to capture methane emissions. New policy is needed here to fill this gap.

There has been as of yet no policy developed by the Government to provide incentives for landfill operators to reduce emissions.

No

10

Wastewater

Ofwat should include wastewater decarbonisation as one of its core principles and this needs to be embedded into the sector's investment framework.

Water UK have published their plan to deliver a net zero water supply by 2030 in the world’s first sector-wide commitment, reaching net zero two decades ahead of the UK Government’s legally binding target of 2050. Ofwat's strategy, Time to act, together, makes clear that the challenges of climate change and the need to achieve net zero are a key focus of its regulatory approach. The Government states it is supportive of the water industry increasingly adopting advanced anaerobic digestion systems where they represent the most cost effective and feasible solution to reducing GHG emissions.

Partly

11

Waste reduction and recycling

Composting facilities need incentives to install forced aeration to reduce methane emissions.

No

12

Waste reduction and recycling

Waste data collection needs to be improved for Commericial & Industry waste and EfW waste should be collected at a devolved administration level.

The Environment Act 2021 gives the powers across the UK to make regulations to establish a digital waste tracking system and require those who produce, handle, dispose of or make products from waste, to enter information onto it. The Goverment launched a consultation to focus on the practical aspects of introducing a digital waste tracking service to ensure this will meet the needs of all those who will either be required to enter information onto it or who will draw information from it, including; businesses across all sectors, government, regulators, academia and the general public.

Partly