Alupro welcomes UK government’s much-anticipated Environment Act

The UK government's Environment Act has finally got Royal Assent, more than two years after it was initially presented. Environment Secretary George Eustice thinks the Act would offer "the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on earth," outlining the government's sustainability strategy, clarifying environmental governance post-Brexit, and mapping out the transition to a more circular economy.

Legislative drivers to end species decrease by 2030, improve air quality, safeguard the health of our rivers, track deforestation, and revolutionise our waste management system are among the key provisions. These improvements will be driven by legally mandated objectives, with the newly formed Office for Environmental Protection holding both the government and public bodies accountable.

“We warmly welcome the Environment Act. We’re glad to see movement – it’s been a long time coming – and commend the government for its continued hard work and engagement with the sector throughout the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Tom Giddings, general manager of Alupro.

“It’s good to see the Act address a diverse range of environmental issues and challenges, many of which have been ignored for far too long. When it comes to provisions relating to waste management, such as the introduction of a highly-functioning Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and much-needed reforms to funding recycling in the UK through a new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, we’re looking forward to reading the government’s responses to its recent consultations,” added Tom Giddings.

“As we transition towards a new dawn of waste management, in what is being positioned as a once in a generation opportunity, we’d like to see a number of commitments and decisions agreed to help create a world-class recycling system for the UK,” said Giddings.

• The implementation of a well-designed all-in DRS that encourages high collection volumes and higher beverage can recycle rates. This will necessitate a varied deposit fee based on container size, innovative on-the-go recycling technologies in hard-to-reach places, and the encouragement of closed-loop recycling in accordance with government procurement laws.
• EPR reforms that account for the intrinsic worth of endlessly recyclable aluminium and result in a higher recycling rate than ever before have been implemented. This necessitates a design that maximises the collection of high-quality packaging from households and businesses, encourages the use of existing technologies to increase yield, incentivizes the value chain to recycle/report correct data, and specifies ambitious (but realistic) objectives for all materials.
• The creation of a large-scale on-the-go collecting system that decreases the amount of recyclable material that ends up in landfill owing to contamination.
• The inclusion of recovery volumes within recycling rates, as well as the acknowledgment of incinerator bottom ash (IBA) as a solution for keeping unsorted recyclable commodities, such as aluminium, in the value chain for longer.
• The use of cutting-edge recycling technology, supported by a defined infrastructure investment framework, to enable widespread recycling of all aluminium packaging.

“The Environment Act shows that the UK’s resources and waste management sector is set for important change. It provides a huge opportunity, but getting things right first time is key. We look forward to reading the government’s consultation responses and hope that real progress can be made towards creating a world-leading circular economy for materials and resources,” said Giddings.