1. Tessa Bowering – SEO, Blandford Waste Team
Separate Collection
Tessa Bowering – SEO, Blandford Waste Team

2. What is Separate Collection?
Aim: improve quality of recyclates by separating at source
From 1 January 2015 must ‘collect separately’:
paper (and card)
plastic
cans
glass
When it is:
necessary to ‘recover’ waste (produce high quality recyclates)
Technically, environmentally and economically practicable (TEEP)
Applies to public and private collections
The Waste Framework Directive requires high quality recycling to meet the necessary quality standards of the relevant recycling sectors. Reg. 13: separate collection of paper, plastic, metals, glass. Includes commercial waste collections
Through this new regulation, which came in in January 2015, taken alongside reg 12 (waste hierarchy) as a minimum it requires separate collections of paper (& card), plastic, metal and glass for both household and commercial waste collections.
Separation at source improves the quality of end-product recyclates. It must not be co-mingled and it must not be re-mixed
Compliments other regulations, eg. Waste Hierarchy, Materials Facilities regulations, Duty of Care

3. What we are aiming for:
Examples of bales of high quality recyclates. This is what we are aiming for

4. Not this:
Exports of RDF have seen an exponential rise over the recent past.
The market went from zero per month in June 2010 to just over 215,000 tonnes per month in January 2015.
Much of it following minimal treatment or recovery of recyclates. In fact, waste exported described as RDF is often mis-described and is little more than baled municipal waste. The legitimate waste industry agrees with us that one of the drivers for export of such waste is to avoid landfill cost and tax. It also results in a loss of resources to the UK economy.
Much RDF is likely to originate from municipal sources. We are engaging local authorities on their duty of care obligations to ensure that waste from them is not destined to illegal sites or operators who do not have contracts for onward use as EfW. With local authorities facing increasing financial constraints, RDF likely to remain an issue

5. Because no one ever fly-tipped gold
Good quality waste material has value.
Poor quality waste has little value and can harm the environment, communities and human health
It makes economic as well as environmental sense to maximise the value of waste.
Recycling often provides that opportunity.

6. or set fire to it Courtsesy: West Midlands Fire Service
So get it right and waste becomes a resource….however
This is one of a number of serious waste fires from the previous summer, with obvious impact on the local community and the business.
Most waste collection authorities, operators and their contractors understand the consequences of mismanaging waste.
For the minority who don’t yet understand this, or who are poorly managed, or who prefer to operate illegally, the new regulations are there to promote the improvements that are required to meet UK targets. The Environment Agency is the regulator required to enforce these new regulations in England.
Courtsesy: West Midlands Fire Service

7. Why have we got SC? Meet EU Directives and other legislation
Support growth of UK recycling industry
Improve quality, quantity and value of recyclates
Help:
waste collectors meet their legal obligations
meet Defra England Quality Action Plan
apply Waste Hierarchy
to reduce landfill and emissions
reduce incidents of fires, odour, flies
reduce illegally described & exported ‘RDF’
In this talk I’ll cover:
Why the Regulations are here and what they intend to achieve
The new regulations we are talking about
Our approach as regulator.
There are good reasons to follow these regulations, which are amendments to the Waste Framework Directive (Separate Collection) and sit alongside the new Environmental Permitting Regulations for Materials Facilities.
The England Quality Action Plan:
Is a Defra publication, February 2013, Developing proposals to promote high quality recycling of dry recyclates
- sets out measures aimed to support a market environment which is capable of promoting high quality recycling and delivering recyclates of sufficient quality to meet the standards of the relevant recycling sectors. 
These are the main stated aims of the regulations, as well as the key benefits.
These should be self-explanatory and not need further elaboration / explanation?
Quite a long list of issues…that is good, because if issues can be addressed….can see the benefit

8. How are we going to do SC Regulation
National
Check 12 top waste management companies for compliance
With the following look at contracts with collectors
Check top 10 Supermarket chains
Check top 6 “flagship “ retailers
Check top 20 shopping malls and retail parks
Area
Follow upstream from poor performers
Check Reg 13 compliance at producers and waste sites
Check Reg 14 compliance at waste sites

9. The Regulations
Regulation: 13 - states that paper/card, plastic, metal and glass waste must be collected separately from each other where this is:
Necessary to ensure that waste undergoes recovery operations in accordance with Articles 4 and 13 of the Waste Framework Directive and to facilitate or improve recovery (the ‘Necessity test’)
Technically, environmentally and economically practicable to do so (the ‘TEEP test’)
Regulation: 14 - prevents the mixing of these 4 separately collected wastes with other wastes or materials, if it is necessary to ensure that waste undergoes recovery operations in accordance with Articles 4 and 13 of the Waste Framework Directive, and to facilitate or improve recovery.

10. How to Comply Taking reasonable steps to follow the regulation
Keep evidence: audit trail
Present to EA
Check collection systems to make sure necessity and practicability tests are met
Waste producers have a legal duty to take all reasonable steps to apply the waste hierarchy
Legal requirement to separately collect plastic, paper, glass and metal only applies to waste collectors.

11. Further information