The Government has unveiled its second consultation on consistency in household and business recycling in England. The proposals for consistent collections are part of the Government’s wider programme of major waste reforms, including the packaging EPR reform and introduction of a DRS. Increasing consistency in recycling will reduce confusion in the materials that can be collected for recycling at kerbside. The objective is help to make sure that less waste goes to landfill and more is recycled.

Defra is seeking views on:

• materials to be collected as part of the dry recyclable waste streams
• provisions for food and garden waste collections
• possible exemptions from the requirements set out in the consultation
• topics to be included in statutory guidance for local authorities
• transition timelines for local authorities and businesses

The consultation is open until 04 July 2021 and relevant documents are available below.

The BRC welcomes the publication of this third key RWS consultation. The Government proposals in the EPR, DRS and consistency of collection consultations are intertwined with significant cost and regulatory implications for decades ahead for many businesses. We are supportive of a long-term strategy that builds infrastructure for all common materials and allows flexibility to incorporate future changes to our use of materials, and that builds consistency across all parts of the UK. Clear and consistent messaging around labelling is equally important so that recycling collections are easy, fast and engaging for the public.

Retailers have a strong track record for campaigning for consistent kerbside collections. It is important to ensure recycling collections are harmonised and that plastic films and flexibles become part of the core set of collected materials as early as 2024 from businesses and no later than 2027 from local authorities. We wish to see this reform delivering substantial recycling performance uplifts from all stakeholders involved.