Defra issues preemptive statement on public ‘wishcycling’ and recycling collections
Defra has taken the unusual step of issuing a statement to address a wave of national coverage on public 'wishcycling', and widespread confusion about what and how to recycle.
In a move to trail the forthcoming response on recycling consistency, the Department released a statement released today (31 May). confronting the problem of public 'wishcycling' and reiterating its ambition to ‘make recycling easier and more consistent so that all councils across England collect the same materials’.
Wishcycling
The statement has come in response to coverage in the i News, the Times, the Telegraph, the Mail Online and the Independent on recycling collections and ‘wishcycling’. The relatively new term ‘Wishcycling’ describes when people put items in the recycling bin either hoping or mistakenly believing they can be reused.
The statement notes that although the forthcoming consultation response aims to make guidelines clearer, it will not mean ‘recycling less’ or putting fewer items into recycling bins – but rather helping people to know what should and should not be recycled.
Making recycling easier
A Defra spokesperson said: “We want to make recycling easier and ensure that there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England. This will help increase recycled material in the products we buy and boost a growing UK recycling industry.
“Local authorities are already required to separately collect types of recycling, but many can and do mix their waste collections – so paper, glass and other materials are in the same bin and separated later.”
Indicating that the Government’s consultation response is likely to enable councils running commingled collection services, the spokesperson added: “New rules under the Environment Act mean that councils will be required to separately collect garden waste and food, but the mixing of dry recycling will still be possible.”
Consultation on recycling consistency in England
The government held a consultation called ‘Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England’ between 7 May 2021 and 4 July 2021.
It collected responses to a series of proposals designed to increase consistency in recycling across England.
The consultation response was expected in early 2023 but was delayed until after the local elections on 4 May 2023.
