Trade associations press Defra over commingled recycling collection
CPI, British Glass, and ACE UK unite to call for separate collections of paper, card, and glass to improve recyclate quality and boost recycling rates
Three major trade associations have joined forces to challenge the UK government's proposed Simpler Recycling scheme, warning that commingled collections could undermine the country's circular economy aspirations.
The Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), British Glass, and The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) UK are urging the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to reconsider its decision to allow commingled collections of paper, card, glass, and liquid cartons.
Quality concerns over commingled collections
The trade bodies argue that collecting and compacting these materials together will significantly reduce the quality of recycled materials, potentially resulting in large quantities of rejected materials that cannot be reprocessed.
Andrew Large, Director General at the CPI, explained: "Whilst we agree with the ambition to mandate collections of certain materials, in order to meet recycling targets and achieve a more efficient, circular bioeconomy, we need a system that will drive up the quality of recyclable materials. Commingling paper and card with other materials damages the quality of recyclate collected, ultimately hampering progress towards a zero-waste economy."
The associations point to both Defra's own evidence and international data, suggesting that commingled collections increase contamination and could jeopardise the UK's recycling rates. They also warn of significantly increased reprocessing costs for waste processors and reprocessors, which could lead to disinvestment in recycling infrastructure.
Recent research by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre found that single-stream commingled collections incur the worst environmental and economic effects compared to more separated collection systems.
Call for separate collections
As an alternative to the current Simpler Recycling proposals, the trade associations are advocating for separate collections of paper/card and glass, with liquid cartons collected alongside plastics and metals. They argue this approach would increase the quality of recyclate collected and strengthen the value of the materials.
Dave Dalton, Chief Executive of British Glass, highlighted the potential benefits of separate glass collections: "Separate glass collections would increase the value of the glass collected, whilst also having a positive impact on the environment by ensuring we use less virgin materials to make new glass products. By doing this we can move closer to a true circular economy of glass, ensuring that more glass packaging is not only recycled but reprocessed into new glass packaging here in the UK."
The associations cite the example of Wales, where 87 per cent of fibre is collected for recycling under a separate collection system, as evidence of the potential success of this approach.
Implications for Simpler Recycling
While the trade bodies support the overall ambition of Simpler Recycling to standardise recycling collections across homes, workplaces, and schools, they argue that the current proposals could have unintended consequences.
Mandy Kelly, Chief Executive of ACE UK, stated: "We are strongly supportive of the Government's Simpler Recycling reforms, particularly the inclusion of liquid cartons within the core list of materials for consistent kerbside collections from English households and businesses. However, without further consideration of the way that materials are collected and sorted, we risk the unintended consequence of collecting more fully recyclable materials than ever before, only for more of these materials ending up in residual waste streams at sorting centres."
The associations are calling on the Defra Secretary of State to halt the Simpler Recycling proposals inherited from previous administrations until they align with the new Government's circular economy ambitions. They view this as an opportunity for the Government to update and enhance the Simpler Recycling approach, potentially delivering on the promise of a true UK circular economy.
As the Government prepares to lay a further statutory instrument to advance Simpler Recycling, the industry's response highlights the complex challenges in balancing standardisation with quality in recycling systems. The outcome of this debate could have significant implications for the UK's waste management practices and its progress towards a zero-waste economy.
