With a legally-binding national target to halve residual waste per person by 2042, councils will play a vital role with the on-the-ground delivery of this ambition. Last month, CEN hosted a Cleaner Communities Conference to provide councillors from across the country with local policy and campaign ideas to deliver a more resource efficient waste management service. This blog is a summary of the insights and ideas discussed at this conference.
Session 1 - Speech by the shadow minister
The day began with a speech by David Simmonds MP, the Shadow Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government. He discussed how waste collection is the defining interaction residents have with their local council, making and breaking a resident’s opinion of the entire council. He explained how with that comes both the need for councils to deliver the basic service but also how it provides bountiful opportunities for councils to go above and beyond the minimum expectation. David then drew attention to some of the conservative environmentalist achievements of the past 14 years, including a crackdown on fly-tipping that saw penalties increased to £1,000 and the establishment of the Chewing Gum Task Force with £1.2 million in private sector funding for councils to remove discarded gum. David then opened the floor to questions from attendees, discussing the ways in which national and local governments can work together to create cleaner communities and to improve the UK’s resource security.
Session 2 - Understanding incoming legislation and regulation
Led by Patrick Brighty, Head of Recycling Policy at the Environmental Services Association, this session served as a definitive guide to understanding the waste and resources policies introduced by the UK government in recent years that will directly impact local authorities across the UK.
Patrick firstly discussed the government’s Simpler Recycling reforms which require local authorities to collect the same set of materials (glass, metal, plastic, paper, card, food waste, and garden waste). By delivering greater recycling consistency across England, these reforms should, in turn, make it easier for residents to recycle no matter where they are in the country.
As a result, these reforms are not as simple as requiring which materials must be collected, but also ensuring that the necessary infrastructure, such as sorting facilities, is in place to accommodate the growing and diversified streams of recycling. Patrick explained that councils will play an important role in ensuring that their service providers have the necessary infrastructure to process the growing amount of recycling brought about by these reforms.
He then talked through the incoming extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging (pEPR). Underpinned by the polluter pays principle, this scheme will make producers of household packaging responsible for the end-of-life management costs of their packaging materials, charging higher fees for less recyclable packaging. The burden for producers will be around £1.4 billion a year, which will be used to reimburse local authorities for the costs of providing their local waste management service. In an effort to improve the quality of England’s recycling service and therefore its recycling rate, the government has stated that councils will have to demonstrate that they are delivering an ‘efficient’ and ‘effective’ service if they are to receive their full payment. The government has recently released further guidance for local authorities on delivering these reforms locally.
Lastly, Patrick drew attention to the deposit return scheme (DRS) which is due to launch in England in October 2027. This scheme will charge a levy on plastic and metal drinks containers which can be refunded upon return of the packaging after use. The hope for DRS is that the offer of a cash incentive will encourage consumers to return their drinks containers instead of littering them. These containers can then be sent to be recycled, helping to boost the recycling rate of drinks containers. CEN has more information on this policy in our councillor recycling briefing which is available to read here.
The ESA’s Head of Climate and Energy Policy, Charlotte Rule, then spoke to us about the role of energy from waste (EfW) as an alternative method of disposal for waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill. EfW involves burning rubbish that cannot be recycled in order to generate energy. While this does reduce the need to send waste to landfill, this process produces high levels of greenhouse gases, especially when plastic is present within the waste. Charlotte then discussed the economics of EfW in the context of changing government policy. The government is considering whether to expand the scope of the UK emissions trading scheme, a policy to help reduce our carbon emissions, to include EfW operators. This could directly impact local authorities engaged in EfW by increasing the costs of waste management. For more information on EfW, read this councillor briefing.
Session 3 - Reducing food waste
We then heard from Claire Shrewsbury, Director of Insights and Innovation at WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme). With the aforementioned Simpler Recycling reforms including a requirement for all councils to collect household food waste, this session explored some tips and tricks for introducing this service to residents successfully, as well as campaign ideas for reducing the amount of food waste created locally.
One of WRAP’s key focus areas to combat food waste is increasing the amount of household food waste collected by councils already offering this service. Currently, local authorities only collect 907,000 tonnes of food waste for recycling. WRAP’s solutions focus on overcoming the common barriers preventing residents - whether physically or psychologically - from recycling their food waste, such as the feeling that food waste bins are dirty or inconsistent collections creating uncertainty. WRAP found that providing free caddy liners can help alleviate hygiene concerns whilst the presence of ‘no food waste’ stickers on residual bins can discourage residents from putting food into them. The WRAP website contains many resources tailored to local authorities, such as the household food waste collections guide. For more background and ideas on food waste, the CEN food waste councillor briefing is available to read here.
Another area of focus for WRAP is reducing the amount of food that actually becomes waste. Claire explained that, globally, around 30% of food produced is either lost or wasted and that if food waste were a country it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Currently, 60% of the food that is wasted in the UK is wasted by citizens in their own homes which equates to 4.7 million tonnes of food wasted each year, worth £17 billion. WRAP’s ‘Love Food Hate Waste' campaign seeks to educate and inspire residents to reduce the food waste they create by making food go further and buying only what they need. WRAP also provides local authorities with a toolkit full of digital resources to promote the annual Food Waste Action Week campaign.
Networking lunch
We then got together over lunch to discuss the waste-related challenges councillors face in their communities, sharing ideas and local case studies for tackling these issues. Three organisations were on hand to provide attendees with novel ideas for raising awareness of and tackling different types of waste. Future Street showcased the Bigbelly, a smart bin that can help councils to increase the efficiency of their service by providing data on bin usage which, in turn, can help to reduce carbon emissions. The Charity Retail Association talked through how councils can work with local charity shops to promote reuse of items such as clothing and electronics in their communities. The British Metals Recycling Association raised awareness of the connection between lithium-ion batteries and the growing number of fires in the waste sector, providing ideas for how councillors can raise awareness of correct battery disposal among residents.
Session 4 - Tackling the rise of electronic waste
After lunch, we regathered for a session on electronic waste, one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world. Led by Niamh McBride, Local Authority and Environmental Partnerships Manager at Material Focus, this session highlighted the different national campaigns, resources and funding pots that councils can get involved in and apply for to help reduce electronic waste in their community.
Niamh gave us an overview of Material Focus’s research on e-waste which included key statistics and data as well as insights into some of the new challenges such as vapes and the rise of fast tech. Deploying attention-grabbing statistics, such as the fact that 1,560 kgs of gold is recovered each year which could help make 487,500 new wedding rings, can help to engage residents with the issue of e-waste.
Niamh also talked through the Electricals Recycling Fund which provides grants of up to £100,000 for councillors wanting to introduce their own local e-waste collection service. Applications to the fund are currently open with some great examples available online of councils that have already benefited from it.
For those wanting to find out more about e-waste, the recording from CEN’s recent councillor e-waste webinar is available online. In addition, we have recently published an e-waste councillor briefing which you can read here.
Session 5 - Using behavioural science to reduce litter in your local community
Street cleaning costs the taxpayer around £1 billion every year in the UK. Led by Rosie Sharp, Creative Partner on Plastics and Packaging at Hubbub, this session explored the role that creative and unusual approaches to bin infrastructure can play in reducing the amount of litter in your local community.
Rosie gave us a series of examples of Hubbub's litter reduction campaigns. The ‘Tidy Roadsides’ campaign targeted roadside litter which is one of the harder forms to tackle. They took action by installing road signs in litter hot spots that asked road users to hold on to their rubbish and also made it easier for drivers to bin their rubbish by installing eye-catching bins in service stations. Litter reduced by 45% within 20 metres of the bins, versus only 8% in non-hotspot locations.
According to Hubbub’s research, most people are good at recycling at home but only 4 in 10 of us recycle on the go. Often recycling on the go is challenging because on street recycling bins are either not available or few and far between. Hubbub’s In The Loop campaign seeks to change this. Its accompanying In The Loop toolkit contains tailored guidance for local authorities including on how to make recycling bins stand out and ensuring they are next to a general waste bin to avoid contamination.
‘Pick your side’ is another successful Hubbub campaign that Rosie introduced us to. This campaign centres on introducing ballot bins into litter hotspots. These bins engage residents by giving them the chance to vote for one of two options with their litter. Hubbub’s research has revealed that litter was reduced by approximately 65% within 20m of the bins. Another version of this bin is designed for residents to dispose of cigarette butts, one of the most common items littered in our streets. Thanet Council and Medway Council, for example, have both trialled these bins within their communities to help reduce cigarette butt litter.
Hubbub regularly partners with councils on campaigns so, if this is of interest, reach out today to see how you can collaborate. In addition, Hubbub has several local authority funding pots, including its Neat Streets fund to increase the UK’s on-street recycling provision, and the Time After Time fund to reduce e-waste.
For more information and ideas, CEN’s councillor briefing on litter and fly-tipping is available here and you can watch the recording of our previous councillor webinar on the same topic here.
Session 6 - Championing reuse at your household waste recycling centre
The day concluded with a session on reuse led by CEN’s Kitty Thompson. She started the session off by providing a definition of reuse, where old, unused or even broken items are put back to their original purpose through repair, refurbishment or restoration, and contrasting it with recycling which involves breaking items down into raw materials to create something new from it. Kitty then talked through some of the social and economic benefits of reuse, which can be found in this CEN briefing.
Kitty flagged some of the organisations and resources available for councils wanting to lead on reuse, including three reports published by SUEZ on how councils can transform their household waste and recycling centres (HWRC) into reuse sites. City to Sea’s toolkits for introducing water fountains in the local community can also help encourage reuse by promoting the use of reusable water bottles. CEN has also published a councillor briefing on reuse for those wanting to familiarise themselves with the topic before deciding what campaigns they might like to run locally.
This presentation concluded with a set of case studies of councils that have already taken on reuse initiatives big and small, from establishing dedicated reuse shops at HWRCs to clothes swapping events for the community. Head to CEN’s digital case study map to learn more about them.
Thank you to everyone who attended our recent conference. If you would like to be the first to hear about our upcoming councillor events, be sure to join CEN’s councillor network. For all CEN councillor briefings, please visit our website.
If you are a CEN supporter, councillor, or parliamentarian and would like to write for the CEN blog, please email your idea to info@cen.uk.com
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