10-May-2006 - New proposals
that will help business turn their rubbish into
hard cash were unveiled today (May 9th) by the
Environment Agency and WRAP (the Waste & Resources
Action Programme).
The proposals, known as Waste
Protocols, will play a major role in reducing
many common types of commercial rubbish that has
traditionally ended up in landfill. They will
also allow, for the first time, many businesses
and industry to turn their rubbish into valuable
resources and products - potentially netting the
UK economy a saving of up to £2bn whilst
also reducing the cost to the environment.
The Waste Protocols identify
10 types of waste which can be recovered and reprocessed
for use in a wide range of end markets. For example,
biodegradable waste often generated by supermarkets
and catering industries can be turned into quality
compost and sold on. Glass waste can be reprocessed
and used as a raw material that delivers energy
savings in the manufacture of bricks. There is
also a large potential market for processed sand
made from recycled glass that can be used on golf
courses and other sport pitches. Some of the most
common types of plastics, particularly those used
in soft drinks bottles and plastic milk containers,
can be recycled back into a range of products,
including new packaging.
The other seven types of waste
that companies may be able to recover and reuse
are: source segregated bio-waste, contaminated
soils which have been washed and stabilised),
food oil which can be turned into bio-fuel or
other products, wood waste not classified as packaging
waste, waste tyres that have been crumbed or shredded,
pulverized fuel ash and blast furnace slag.
The developed Waste Protocols
will provide guidance to business that will:
define the point of full recovery
from a waste back into a product or material that
can be either reused by the business or industry
or sold into other markets; or
define when wastes are recovered to a state where
the Environment Agency considers that their use
is acceptable in accordance with their Low Risk
regulatory principles; or
confirm to the business community what legal obligations
remain to control the re-use of the treated waste
material .
Sir John Harman, Chair of the Environment Agency,
who will be announcing the ten new waste streams
Tuesday 9th May 2006 at the
RICS, 12 Great George Street, London, SW1P at
3.30pm.
said:
"Nationally the amount
of waste we are generating is increasing year
on year, for every tonne of household waste, business
and industry produces another six, with most of
it destined for landfill sites around the country.
So I am delighted to announce alongside our partners
WRAP, that we will be developing 10 new Waste
Protocols which will let business and industry
to turn this waste into valuable products and
materials. Whilst the Waste Protocols Project
is a relatively new initiative, the expectation
surrounding it is substantial and we are confident
that it is a project which has the potential to
change the way waste is recovered on a national
and ultimately international scale."
"We know that the success
of this project relies on the backing of business
and industry and we believe that we have made
real progress with this. Our Project Advisory
Board who were instrumental in identifying the
types of waste that can be reused, already has
15 key organisations across government and business,
including the Confederation of British Industries
(CBI), as members."
Jennie Price, Chief Executive
of WRAP, said: "Achieving greater clarity
on the issue of when a waste that is being recycled
becomes a product is absolutely critical to increasing
the UK’s recycling levels. WRAP has found that
many users will simply not contemplate buying
a material that remains within the scope of the
regulatory regime for waste and uncertainty on
this point is one of the issues most regularly
cited by recyclers as a barrier to business success.
"We are delighted to be
working with the Environment Agency on this joint
project, which is particularly timely given research
just published by WRAP which shows the substantial
contribution that recycling can make to reducing
CO2 emissions and therefore climate change."
The Waste Protocols Project
has been funded through Defra’s Business Resource
Efficiency and Waste programme (BREW) which recycles
revenue generated through the Landfill Tax to
support business in making better use of their
resources and managing their waste.
Defra recently announced the
second year’s worth of BREW funding, totaling
some £95 million for the 2006/07 financial
year and the Environment Agency was successful
in obtaining continuation funding for both its
NetRegs and Waste Crime projects, as well as securing
funding for the Waste Protocols Project with our
partner organisation WRAP.
ENDS
Notes To Editors:
WRAP
1. WRAP (the Waste & Resources
Action Programme) is a major UK programme established
to promote resource efficiency. Its particular
focus is on creating stable and efficient markets
for recycled materials and products and removing
the barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and
recycling.
2. A not-for-profit company,
WRAP is backed by substantial Government funding
from Defra and the devolved administrations in
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
