Government issues storage guidance for overstretched recyclers

The government said yesterday that it would attempt to make it easier for waste handling firms to store recyclable material while they wait for demand from recyclers in countries such as China to recover.

The UK recycling market has been thrown into crisis in recent weeks as recyclers in China responded to falling demand for their end products brought about as a result of the global recession to halt purchases of waste material from Europe. Prices of recyclable material such as paper, cardboard plastic and metals subsequently collapsed leaving many UK waste handling firms unable to offload collected material.

The crisis had prompted calls for the government to make more space available for companies to store waste while they wait for demand to recover, and it responded yesterday with a commitment to make it easier for firms to store waste.

In a joint statement from Defra, the Environment Agency, the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), and the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP), the government said that while demand for some materials have dropped significantly it remains committed to ensuring "that this does not undermine public confidence in the value of recycling, nor lead to unacceptable environmental consequences".

It added that would aim to "avoid actions which exacerbate the situation whilst markets stabilise" and would continue to promote waste minimisation and recycling, and would only countenance sending waste to landfill as "a last resort".

Alongside the statement, the Environment Agency, which polices the storage of waste material, also issued new guidance designed to help those waste firms that are looking to increase the amount of waste they store while they wait for demand for material to recover.

A spokesman for the Agency explained that those firms requiring additional storage space for less than six months should contact their Environment Agency Area Office to discuss a temporary increase in storage of recyclable materials at their site.

He added that those looking to increase storage capacity for longer than six months should apply for a variation to their permit, while those storing paper, cartons, textiles, cans and foil, and plastic in a secure place should investigate if they are eligible for exemptions from having a storage permit.

The Environment Agency said that in light of the current market conditions it would seek to respond to any requests for changes to permits as swiftly as possible.

However, Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association's environment board, said that while the willingness to extend waste storage permits was welcome the government may have to intervene more directly if the market for recyclable material does not recover relatively quickly.

"The government can't create a market where there isn't one," he said. "So what it is doing, and what it needs to do more of, is assist in finding secure places for material to be stored."

He suggested that unused military bases, mills and factories could all be commandeered to hold waste material until demand recovers.

Bettison added that an increase in storage capacity is essential if the government is not to jeopardise the progress it has made in increasing recycling rates.

"We've worked hard to get people to amend lifestyles to embrace recycling and we can’t afford to get them out of that habit," he said. "They will accept that material is stored for a while before being recycled, but they will not accept the material they have put out to be recycled ending up in landfill – it will take five years to build up UK recycling capacity so in the meantime storage is the only answer."