A review by the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) has uncovered that only 20% of waste strategy policies which were recommended in the 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy have since been fully implemented. An additional 54% of recommended strategies are partially in place, with over a quarter of policies not yet started. 

The main reasons listed for this delay in progress are: 

• Frequent ministerial changes within government since 2018
• The impact of having to prepare for the UK's exit from the EU
• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 

However, and perhaps most importantly, CIWM has recognised that in light of these delays, the world has significantly moved on and some strategies recommended are now out of date. They state there is now an urgent need to produce a new Resource Resilience Strategy aimed at delivering a circular economy and helping the UK to achieve net zero. 

Commenting on the launch of the review, CIWM’s Director of Innovation and Technical Services, Lee Marshall, said:

Whilst it is good to see that Defra has been slightly bolstered in recent years, the fact is that political indecision has left the original timelines meaningless in many cases. There is an urgent need to see certain policies delivered, including packaging EPR and Consistent Collections which will directly increase recycling rates, whilst digital waste tracking and carriers, brokers and dealers’ reforms will help regulators address waste crime and increase standards still further. Given the picture this review paints, it is time to produce a new Resource Resilience Strategy that will help deliver on the Government’s ambition of a zero-waste economy.”

Of the policy recommendations included in the 2018 strategy document, Consistent Collections are cited as the one which could have the biggest environmental impact. CIWM has called for weekly food waste collections across all councils in England which are not already providing this service, estimating an increase of the overall recycling rate from 44% to around 60% if this were to take place. 

Alongside completion of existing policy measures which are still relevant, CIWM would like to see included in a new strategy the creation of a cross-government resource resilience task force, increased focus on green skills and the introduction of targets across the top half of the waste hierarchy. 

You can read the full review here.