Recycling companies rely on Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) to provide them with some of the materials which can then be used to make new products. Defra officials have been working closely with local authorities and the waste sector to keep HWRCs open. There is no reason in law why HWRCs cannot be open and where possible, local authorities should seek to retain access to HWRC services for their residents to dispose of waste. The Government is not setting a date by which HWRCs should be open. We recognise that the opening of HWRCs will depend on local circumstances and resource availability. A “one size fits all” approach is not appropriate. The decision to open a HWRC remains with the relevant local authority. Our most recent guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-to-local-authorities-on-prioritising-waste-collections/managing-household-waste-and-recycling-centres-hwrcs-in-england-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic

Indications are that most local authorities have been able to maintain collection services for packaging and food waste and continue to send materials to be recycled. Material recovery facilities which receive, separate and prepare recyclable materials for reprocessing and recycling companies, have been operating whilst maintaining social distancing measures. The impacts of COVID-19 and related restrictions on these facilities and the recycling sector are being closely monitored by Defra. In addition, the Charted Institute for Waste Management (CIWM) has worked with Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), local authority bodies and commercial waste collectors to establish the WasteSupport platform to assist local authorities to access additional capacity in the commercial waste collection sector for processing waste.

For some materials (including waste electrical equipment, furniture , and textiles) there are particular challenges and Defra is in regular discussions with these sectors, including the reuse/repair and reprocessing organisations, about these.

The Environment Agency has published time-limited Regulatory Position Statements (RPSs) to allow some flexibility for local authorities and other operators where, for reasons beyond their control, compliance with certain regulatory requirements may not be possible due to COVID-19. These include the ability to store more material at a permitted site than the permit usually allows. Each COVID-19 RPS sets out when it can be applied and conditions that will need to comply with, to ensure that the risks to the environment and human health are minimised. More details can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/covid-19-regulatory-position-statements.

Defra has published guidance on prioritisation of waste services and on management of HWRCs during the current pandemic and continues to monitor the situation with local authorities and industry bodies.

In 2019 the Government published an impact assessment to support its consultation on greater consistency in household and business recycling. In that impact assessment Government estimated that an investment in the range of £180 million - £260 million would be needed to roll out weekly separate food waste collection across households in England. These costs assume that all local authorities make no other change to collection systems and are estimated over a 7 year transition period from 2023 to 2029. This was based on what would be needed to cover additional bins, vehicles and transportation of food waste to AD sites.

Given the additional costs involved in separate food waste collection the Government has stated that it will ensure that local authorities are resourced to meet new costs arising from separate food waste collections including upfront transition costs and ongoing operational costs.

For businesses and other organisations the total annual costs for separate food waste collections were estimated to be £189 million. This estimate is based on all businesses participating in the scheme.

The costs of business food waste collections would be funded by businesses. In the impact assessment published in 2019 our preferred option of having all businesses collect dry recyclable materials (with glass separated) and separate food waste collection showed that business could make greater savings overall and we would expect estimated savings of £1,206 million from the measures proposed to increase recycling in the non-household municipal sector. For very small or micro firms our impact assessment indicated that these might see greater costs from measures to increase recycling and Government is considering options to reduce costs for this sector including possible exemptions from requirements to separately collect food waste.

The Government recognises the need to address the issues associated with the environmental impact of nappies. In line with the Resources and Waste Strategy published in December last year, we are considering the best approach for a range of products.

There are a number of policy measures available to us, including standards and consumer information, and we believe the right approach for each product requires careful consideration taking account of various factors, for example, waste benefits versus energy usage. We are therefore carrying out some new research into the impacts of reusable and disposable nappies. This will help us decide on the best course of action for the future and in terms of Government support.

Since 2015 all councils have had to collect waste paper, metal, plastic and glass by separate collection, except where this is not necessary to provide a sufficiently high quality of recyclate or where it is not technically, environmentally or economically practicable. My honourable friend, Therese Coffey, has taken up this issue with the local government association and will also be sharing her concerns with the regulator, the Environment Agency.

My Lords, I have to say, first, that it is nonsense. The department does not dictate what is spent by Lancashire—or Pendle, the noble Lord’s collection authority. That is a matter for them within the budget. Noble Lords may not be aware that Pendle’s recycling rate is 35.5%, so there is certainly room to make up to get to the national average—but the national average is improving and we are on course to meet our recycling obligations under European and domestic law.

My Lords, noble Lords will be aware that government policy on waste and recycling is led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, although we work together closely on these issues. Councils play a central role in achieving high recycling rates, and we want to see them provide comprehensive waste and recycling collection services that have the support of local house- holders. We have provided local government with over £200 billion for this spending period and, although councils make their own spending decisions, we expect them to prioritise what they do to deliver what their residents want to see and to ensure good waste management practice.

Estimates on the number of authorities collecting residual waste in England are collated by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). This information represents WRAP’s best understanding of residual waste collection frequencies up to the end of May this year.

‘Residual waste’ collection normally excludes dry recyclables, but includes food waste, where this is not collected separately (or mixed with garden waste) for recycling either by being sent to treatment through anaerobic digestion or composting.

Where the authority offers more than one scheme frequency to different householders, they have been counted in each category, and therefore some authorities are counted more than once.

Figures are for England

The Weekly Collection Support Scheme is in operation until November 2017. However, all funding has been allocated and there are no applications still awaiting a decision.

Since the answer given on 12 February 2015, the department allocated £11 million in March and April 2015 through its Recycling Reward Scheme to support 41 local authorities to deliver initiatives which reward residents for doing the right thing and reducing, reusing or recycling their household waste.

Decisions on collection arrangements and frequency are for each Local Authority to make, taking into account local circumstances including the practicalities, characteristics of the area, providing the service that local residents want, and the need to protect public health and the environment.

Defra has funded the Waste and Resources Action Programme to provide advice and support to Local Authorities on good practice for waste and recycling, and to help Local Authorities promote their services more effectively and make them convenient. We are also encouraging greater harmonisation of waste collection and recycling services across different local authority areas.

In March 2012, my Department received initial expressions of interest from 151 lead local authorities, which resulted in bids from 113 local authorities. Some local authorities submitted multiple expressions of interest which were consolidated before final bid stage. The final bids were then assessed in line with the published criteria, and recipients then awarded funding.

A detailed table listing the schemes that are being supported is attached and on my Department’s website.

It may be helpful to the noble Lord to outline what this Government has delivered since 2010:

• Safeguarded weekly collections for 6 million households through the Weekly Collection Support Scheme as well as championing innovation and best practice; the answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, House of Commons 646W, outlined how 14 million households in England have some form of weekly collection of smelly rubbish.

• Issued the first ever Whitehall guidance on weekly bin collections, demolishing the myths that fortnightly bin collections are needed to save money or increase recycling. This best practice was directly informed by the Weekly Collections Support Scheme;

• Supported over 40 innovative reward schemes to back recycling through the Weekly Collection Support Scheme (as pledged in the Coalition Agreement); the winning bids for a further Recycling Rewards Scheme for 2015-16 will be announced shortly;

• Stopped the Audit Commission inspections which marked down councils who do not adopt fortnightly rubbish collections, and rejected the Audit Commission guidance which advocated fortnightly collections (“Waste Management: The Strategic Challenge and Waste Management Quick Guide”);

• Abolished the Local Area Agreements and National Indicator 191 imposed by Whitehall which created perverse incentives to downgrade waste collection services;

• Scrapped the Whitehall requirement for municipal Annual Efficiency Statements, which allowed a reduction in the frequency of a household rubbish collection service to qualify as a “valid efficiency” and allowed revenue from bin fines to classed as a “cashable efficiency gain”;

• Scrapped the imposition of eco-towns which would have had fortnightly bin collections and/or bin taxes as part of the “eco-standards”;

• Through the Localism Act, revoked the 2008 legislation that allowed for the imposition of new bin taxes;

• Issued guidance to stop the imposition of illegal ‘backdoor bin charging’ on households bins;

• Stopped funding the ‘Waste Improvement Network’ which told councils to adopt fortnightly collections as best practice;

• Challenged the incorrect interpretation by some bodies that European Union directives require fortnightly collections, and resisted the imposition of bin taxes by the European Union;

• Removing powers of entry and snooping powers from bin inspectors and scrapped guidance telling councils to rifle through families’ bins;

• Changed building regulations and planning guidance to tackle ‘bin blight’, and worked with the NHBC Foundation to produce new best practice guidance for house builders;

• Changing the law through the Deregulation Bill to scrap unfair bin fines.

Without our active support, Ministers are clear that weekly collections would have disappeared across England. This Government’s approach can be contrasted with the devolved Labour-led Administration in Wales, where fortnightly bin collections are official policy, and pilots of monthly bin collections are being actively encouraged.

My noble friend knows perfectly well that the Secretary of State has been at the forefront of ensuring that local authorities are able to manage their own affairs. They have devolved funding, are able to manage their own budgets and now have the business rates staying with them. The whole way that local government finance is going is to ensure that local government can answer for itself.