The Commission is encouraged by the details in a policy update from the government (published on 29 November) setting out its plans to increase reycling rates across England, which address Commission concerns about delays to investment in new recycling capacity.

The 2021 Environment Act had introduced powers to implement three key components of a future recycling strategy: ‘simpler recycling’, an extended producer responsibility on packaging, and a deposit return scheme. Together these reforms are critical to achieving the government’s target of recycling 65 per cent of municipal waste by 2035 and addressing a plateau in local authority collected waste recycling rates, which currently stand at just over 40 per cent.

Commissioner Professor Jim Hall said:

“Previous delays in implementing promised reforms to make recycling simpler and more consistent have created significantly uncertainty for householders and for the sector, undermining the much-needed investment in England’s recycling capacity which the Commission called for. So this progress by government on the programme of reforms is welcome.

“Making separate collection of paper and card the default approach is pragmatic, given the risks of cross-contamination from other recyclables. While is it appropriate to allow for exemptions, government must be mindful of any cumulative impacts on waste capacity and make sure that any increased demand for post-collection separation can be met.

“Allowing councils to retain flexibility on the frequency of residual waste collections is sensible, as the evidence suggests that less frequent collections can encourage positive behaviour change by households while helping to reduce costs for local authorities.”

In its second National Infrastructure Assessment, the Commission found that the significant delay to implementing these reforms was creating uncertainty and preventing investment in new recycling capacity. Our 2024 Infrastructure Progress Review in May had welcomed the progress by the previous government in confirming how each component of the reforms would work, but cautioned that important policy details had not yet been finalised, especially for simpler recycling.

In addition to the new detail on the plans to make recycling simpler set out in this update, the Commission also welcomes confirmation of draft regulations for the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme and the Deposit Return Scheme, the implementation of which was also part of its waste recommendations in the Assessment.