More from Less

• Philosophy

• How the Material Resources Strategy was developed?
  
      - Workshop Index
        - MRS Documents
  

• Background and context

• Overview of the problem

• Visions and aims

• Increasing resource efficiency and reducing wastage

• Maximising reuse, recycling and composting

• Dealing with unavoidable waste

• Meeting the need for minerals

• Need for new infrastructure and sites

• Moving forward

• Glossary

• FAQ

• Contacts / Get Involved

• Links

Stakeholders at MRS workshop 1 discussed how the outputs of the MRS could be developed and how barriers could be overcome. The record of these discussions has been transcribed below.

(applying all questions to all waste steams - construction, household, business, agriculture)

• Ensuring that materials are recycled from household waste - all waste even building materials for extensions.
• Re-use of materials, second-hand materials (‘risk’ involved in second-hand materials).
• Making sure unused materials (i.e. still new) are sent back!

• No motivation in here - it’s all right involving or engaging but motivating is also important.
• What are individuals (in the 4 waste streams) motivations?
• Risk: due to health and safety regulations there is no flexibility in reusing goods, therefore they end up as waste, electrical equipment especially. There are companies which are willing to take this risk and then give the products a guarantee so that they can be resold.
• Business can find innovative solutions to this issue
• Motivation:
  • Improving awareness amongst the public.
  • Business: no penalties for reusing materials or maybe incentives.
  • Household: no penalties for people wanting to do recycling; ease of use; create incentive (probably should be same for business).
• SMEs:
  • Extremely hard for these to get rid of rubbish: cannot put it all with waste; no access to facilities for recycling.
  • Needs to be a system for SMEs to get rid of waste in a cost effective and easy way (like households).

3. Developing markets for recycled materials (and giving business the opportunity to do recovery and recycling)

• Financial support
• More awareness of who is doing what with waste, an information service/system for business on what markets are available. This will depend on type of waste produced, as different people want different materials for recycling there could be an advertising opportunity for these companies.
• Short and long term storage of materials so that there is a guarantee of a supply.
• Making products that people want to buy.
• Linking up the re-processor and recycling plants.
• Recognising the appropriate solution to the material waste, a specific solution to the material type and area of demand.
• Incentives for the non-viable areas, such as is at the moment with contaminated land, need to extend this to other areas.
• County Council economic development or business could provide an incentive to develop materials/products in place whilst the market develops. Where is the money coming from?

• Parish Councils have to pay business rates for their waste, this is a problem if they own the village hall
• Public sectors are tied up by red tape - needs to be reviewed so it can have more flexibility in relation to waste - this applies to ‘risk’ too.
• Look at best practice models.
• All public sectors have an environmental policy that they use.
• Changing the hearts, minds and wallets of people in public sector (and elsewhere).

• Charge for what we don’t want people to do but provide incentives for doing what we want.
• Communicating what we want to do.
• Involving waste management organisations.

• Are the facilities in place? à no but this does not stop people participating.
• Education from an early age and through all generations.
• Incentives to promote recycling.
• Reducing contamination through sorting bins.
• Need to change the image of recycling.
• Need to win over consumer power.
• Use technology to sort mixed waste therefore reducing contamination - not consistent with what is being developed - need to look at clean MRFs.
• Sorting at source.

• No incentive for SMEs to recycle waste e.g. green waste.
• Change in legislation so it becomes cost effective.
• Make companies accountable for waste streams.
• Special projects unit to promote small scale projects and new technologies.
• Need to identify best practice and promote throughout country so good ideas are shared - need to show SMEs that this can save money they are wasting by not recycling.
• Council needs to provide the facilities in order for SMEs to maximise recycling.
• WRAP.
• Ensure companies have an environmental impact statement so sustainability and green record can be checked.
• Use big companies to influence SMEs.

• British Approvals need to catch up so recycled products are accredited.
• Supply chain management.
• Engage all sectors of industry.
• Show through demonstration projects that recycled materials can be used in all sorts of application.

• Public sector need to invest in demonstration projects to put ‘money where near mouth is’.
• Promote waste services in Hampshire.

• If have common vision for all sectors would increase with Government.
• Require of recycled materials in planning.
• Need to have incentives throughout the Government through Carbon Credit Scheme.

• Danger of having too many groups that will fragment the MRS and dilute NRI principles.
• Is the MRS going to have any clout? Seems like ‘all talk and no action’. Is the MRS just re-discussing NRI vision?
• Education is not mentioned in the briefing document. Should be kept separate to promotion. Need to focus on re-education of existing industries.
• Need to have a tangible action that can come out of all the discussions that have taken place -the process needs to be speeded up.

• Tackling youngsters is best place to start as they will influence parents.
• Need to be more specific on what can/cannot be recycled - details in inputs.
• Educating householders is a key role in getting the most recycling as possible.
• Districts having one system across Hampshire to deal with waste to reduce confusion.
• The younger the better the education of children in getting culture change in Hampshire.
• Adults are not taking on the examples set by children.
• Must be easy for adults to do it.
• Different answers for different areas.
• What benefit is there for the householders?
• Feel good factor??
• Incentives need carrot or stick.

• Incentive based?
• Money is key if it stacks up financially they will do it!
• SME’s unable to access facilities and not able to worry about it.
• Recycling set up to serve bigger business and not SMEs.
• Reducing waste at start by minimising packaging and considering whole life of product.
• Waste producer must be made accountable.
• By tackling those people who collect waste we can encourage recycling.
• Me must engage big business and see what they do and how we can influence them.
• We must first do research into the commercial and industrial waste stream before we think of how we can deal with it.
• We are making some progress in packaging e.g. shrink wrap.
• Companies must be made to look at how much packaging they produce.
• Comes down to cost.

• Specify recyclable material e.g. if you need to move get someone who uses plastic crates and not cardboard boxes.
• Many recycled products seen as ‘sub-standard’.
• Glass is one area where we are doing high standard recycled material.
• As we produce more recycled material will demand keep up with supply.
• Highest value use for each product when recycled - optimum being reuse.
• International competition from recycled products on those producing virgin materials.
• Emphasis on reuse rather than recycle.
• Do we mean national markets or third world materials?
• Health and Safety issues related to reuse.
• Research is key to discover what areas we cannot currently deal with and don’t have a market for.
• Local Government needs to take a much more visible role in using recycled products - promoting best practice.
• Must understand markets first before we can actually satisfy demand.
• Change market place at local/national level.

• Local government must have green procurement strategy to ensure that they are using "sustainable" products and going through that process.
• Hampshire can use its "Best Practice" label and push it up the chain to central government.
• Local Authorities must have green procurement policy - HCC do have green option on procurement it is a choice for each department.
• Cost is key, the cheaper the better. Recycled products are often more expensive.
• As we order more recycled material it will change the balance and bring recycled products more into the same price range.
• Price of virgin aggregates affects market prices.
• More effort required to demonstrate "fitness for purpose".
• Perhaps we should focus on our own local arena and leave "Public Sector" until we are settled.
• Environment Agency
• Regulatory bodies need engaging at start of process.
• Lack of consistency on information from different area offices.

• Hampshire as a source of BP can put pressure on Central Government and be used as a model by others.
• Must get them to take more notice and get involved at this kind of exercise and prove it is a valuable process.
• Central Government is the same people as local Government but working at a different level.
• Not just local government lobbying, industry and commerce should be involved as well.
• Hants has some levels of MPs but waste management not high on the agenda.
• Most of Hants MPs are in opposition or not in high positions in Government.
• Get central government to workshop where we have waste disposal contractors and waste contractors to get them involved in the key issues.
• If Hants produces plans that are very good that go out to government they can be used as the yardstick for others
• Take advantage of direct link from MP à Secretary of State to get questions answered.

• Charge on the basis of pay for volume generated of non-recyclable waste.
• Sustained national media campaigns using role models to appeal to the young.
• Feedback and encouragement of success - involve media.
• Using simple convenient systems.
• Deposit schemes.

• Ensuring no restrictive practices to allow for recycled products.

• Identifying outlets for reusable materials/products.

• Working with NGOs and community groups to develop reclamation schemes.
• Procurement for resource management.

• Legislation to reduce packaging and specify standards.
• Tax marketing.
• Fiscal incentives - e.g. tax on carrier bags.
• Define what products need/don’t need packaging. Mechanism for regulating standards of packaging.
• Top down producer responsibility.

• Education to householders - proper/full
• Local/national awareness raising of importance of recycling
• Change attitudes – from waste to resource
• Government £30m over 3 years to do this on a local and national scale

• Specifically involving business (separate point)
• Don’t overlook SMEs – e.g. mini MRFs - make it more attractive for recyclers to go to SMEs.
• Litter avoidance.
• Specific help to new businesses to improve their environmental status.
• Influence supermarket to use less packaging.

• Very/most important - all else will follow from this.
• Incentive to use recycled materials should be a primary consideration.
• Set proportion of recycled materials in construction contracts.
• Market research - marketing of recycled materials.

• Employing cross party support.
• Lobby, build support, with cross party MPs.
• Workshop for Hampshire MPs to build support for MRS.
• Willingness to implement an idea - regardless of where it comes from.

• Government - funding from over 3 years to change attitudes to recycling.
• Influence government to change tax regime - to make it more acceptable to use recycled, do recycling.
• Other countries in Europe - are much further advanced have introduced legislation, some time ago (ahead of EU timetable).
• Influence UK Government - to introduce legislation - to influence change.
• British cynicism to new things.
• Strong committed government.

 Table 6:

• Assess what waste there is (material streams) and who is producing it and learn from case studies elsewhere (see NRI research and Andover project).

• Segregation and recycling of litter (as seen in Germany).
• Deposit on bottles (plastic and glass).

• Resource Parks and linking industries together.
• Internet ‘swap shops’, or Waste Directory.
• Commercial versions of the household waste recycling centre (HWRC’s).
• Fiscal Instruments e.g. Landfill tax, will eventually tip balance in favour of recycling.
• Statutory targets?

• Education - being able to tell what can be sent to which route. Make it easy for householder.
• Co-ordination - Local council to go beyond legal duties to deliver a holistic plan for all waste streams e.g. waste strategy. Write a waste local plan to cover all waste streams planning/land use.
• Involve communities - explain why, show as well as tell. Visit best practice site.

• Waste Parks -large scale, strategic, all waste streams. Treating, sorting, planning.
• Involving communities - at earlier stage in process.
• Identification/education - labelling packages, knowing what can/can’t. Primary school age.
• Expand services.

• Need a different system for SME’s to larger operations.
• Councils could bring in a commercial waste recycling scheme.
• Awards.
• Name and shame (works at national level).
• Utilise environmental ‘audit’ in the funding (banking) process.
• Current legislation is too inflexible for agency and business to operate pragmatically.
• Maximise quality of products through innovative technology.

• Can SME’s really have the same collection as householders? Authorities could do both at the same time. No obvious cost implications. Pure bureaucracy. Different companies would have different levels of waste, yet different householders have different levels. Districts are not allowed to spend one penny of tax on trade waste collection. Change of attitude needed, but the infrastructure must be in place so there are no excuses. Decriminalisation/exemptions for recycling?
• Making it easier for SME’s to recycle their waste.
• Combination of local-up and central-down focus from Government.
• Risk analysis should take place.
• Trial scheme at 4 HWRCs to take trade waste.

• Education.
• Charge people for their non-recyclable waste.
• Old days - 1p for a returned bottle, why doesn’t this happen today?
• It’s got to be easy.
• Different sized wheelie bins – recycling = large; waste = small.
• Incentivising through capacity.
• Austrian model – Graz.
• Packaging Issues.
• Minimising Waste in the first place - plastic bag charging at supermarkets for example.

• Quality and quantity do not marry properly. You can’t have quality of you’re looking for quantity, and vice versa.

• Modifying local plans to include identification of local sites.
• Government education policy.
• PI - Contract simplification.
• Local authority responsibility - fundamental change in legislation.
• Variable size of reception facilities.
• Economic favourability to business.
• Corporate image - e.g. UN Charter (Large corporation)
• Address SME concerns/requirements.
• Landlord responsibility for industrial state! Service charge to tenants.
• Market forces.

• Education.
• Local Authority collection 
  • Policy
  • Resources

• Corporate responsibility.
• Education - SMEs - 
  • "carrot" - trade off
  • Trade organisation responsibility 
  • "It has to be".
• Business cycle has to address waste.
• Human resources available for sorting e.g. handpicking.

• Public buy with a conscience - recycled product rather than imported - education.
• Lot of what we consume is imported so little say over the source.
• Government intervention e.g. money to build Shotton Mill.

• Good labelling of products, responsible labelling by manufacturers.
• Kerbside collections of glass and garden waste.
• Small, local community sites for recycling glass.
• Working together as local authorities across county e.g. 13 authorities getting together in glass contract.
• Local authorities - procurement policies should be used top stipulate recycled materials.

• Government support.
• Provision of very accessible and easy facilities.
• Got to come from the top of the company.
• Mechanism for finding suppliers for recyclable waste and facilities for recycling it e.g. directory.
• Information about engineering properties for recyclate e.g. Department of Transport accepting glass as aggregate.
• Government/European legislation e.g. WEEE retailers - manufacturers have to take back.
• Grasp nettle of being cheaper for trade/schools to landfill than recycle. Government (local or national) has to subsidise this or jack up landfill tax - though this encourages fly tipping.
• Working together as local authorities across county e.g. 13 authorities getting together in glass contract.

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Engaging the Process Chain: Changes or additions to the proposed outcomes

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

Table 5

How the following barriers to establishing material recovery facilities might be overcome

Table 6

Table 7

Table 8

Table 9

Table 10