The impact of waste treatment legislation
The Producer Pre-Treatment Requirement of the Landfill Directive was implemented in October 2007, prohibiting businesses from sending nonhazardous waste that had not been pre-treated to landfill (Biffa, 2007). The responsibility for pre-treatment rests with the waste producer and the overall aim of the directive is to reduce the impact of landfill and increase material recovery through recycling. Under the directive, ‘pretreatment’ is deemed to have been undertaken when the waste has been through a ‘three-point test’ in which all three points have been satisfied:
1. It must be a physical, thermal or chemical, or biological process,
including sorting.
2. It must change the characteristics of the waste.
3. It must do so in order to:
–– reduce its volume, or
–– reduce its hazardous nature, or
–– facilitate its handling, or
–– enhance its recovery.
In the case of a high-street retailer, pre-treatment can usually be achieved by separating out recyclable material from the general waste stream using different containers, or by sending mixed waste (where separation at-store is not possible) to a sortation facility where recyclate can be recovered. There is no clear guidance as to the proportion of waste that would need to be recovered, only that it is ‘significant’ and ‘consistent’. For waste that is not destined for landfill, the treatment requirements are not applicable.
An online survey of over 600 SMEs and 200 larger corporate businesses (with over 250 employees) looked at the extent of recycling amongst UK businesses and the extent to which SMEs were aware of the pre-treatment requirements (Taylor Intelligence, 2007). The results suggested that there was a general lack of awareness amongst SMEs of the producer pretreatment requirements and many did not have the facilities or contracts in place to separate out and recover recyclate from the general waste stream. There is clearly a market for both private contractors and local authorities to provide commercial recycling collections to SMEs, the latter highlighted in the government’s Waste Strategy 2007, which has introduced a strategic objective to encourage local authorities to assist SMEs to recycle. Given the requirements of the producer pre-treatment legislation, SMEs would do well to coordinate their recycling activities with their neighbours to reduce costs and meet their obligations. The end of ‘co-disposal’ brought about through the Landfill Regulations 2002 (Landfill Directive 99/31/EC) has seen the number of sites licensed to take hazardous waste drop from around 240 nationally to fewer than 15. The longer-term impact of this is likely to be an increase in average length of haul, given that nearly 42 per cent of hazardous waste is currently transported across regional boundaries (Envirowise, 2005) and there are currently no licensed sites in London or Wales. The Environment Agency estimated that as a result, the cost of collecting and disposing of hazardous waste would increase from £150 million per annum to approximately £500 million.
The EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste (94/62/EC) seeks to reduce the impact of packaging on the environment by introducing specific recovery and recycling targets, and by encouraging more minimization and reuse in this area. The UK was obliged to recover 60 per cent of overall UK packaging waste by the end of December 2008, and more specifically, 60 per cent of all paper and glass. The regulations affect any business that handles more than 50 tonnes of packaging per annum and has an annual turnover of more than £2 million. These businesses include those that put goods or products into packaging as well as those that sell already packaged goods to final users.
Under the regulations, obligated businesses must provide evidence of payment for the recovery and recycling of a specified proportion of their packaging waste (including wood, aluminium, steel, cardboard and plastic). This is done through electronic Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs) and Packaging Export Recovery Notes (PERNs) issued by the accredited re-processor to indicate how much packaging has been recovered or recycled. As in the 3PL returns management model, businesses have the option to join a packaging compliance scheme that manages the individual company’s recovery and recycling obligations (eg purchase of PRNs/PERNs and reporting on compliance to the regulator). The government has acknowledged that the increased recovery of packaging waste is integral to meeting its landfill diversion targets and improving recycling and recovery from waste. The introduction of the regulations has already led to a significant improvement in packaging recycling, increasing from 27 per cent (1997) to 57 per cent (2006).
Using a common type of reusable packaging that complies with an agreed standard (Golding, 1999) and could be exchanged between companies (Kroon and Vrijens, 1995; DfT, 2005) is one way that businesses could reduce such costs. Reusable packaging may not be universally attractive as logistics costs might be adversely affected by additional handling, retrieval and storage requirements. Since manufacturers typically factor the costs of packaging into their prices to customers, the total cost of supply would probably reduce where packaging could be reused, along with end disposal costs (Wu and Dunn, 1994). It is however important to clarify whether the collective processes associated with managing the production, take-back and final disposal of returnable packaging is not more detrimental to the environment than the use of one-way packaging material (Kroon and Vrijens, 1995). While large retail chains often maximize vehicle utilization through backhauling reusable packaging (trays, dollies etc) and other recyclable material, wholesalers have to deliver small loads to many small businesses and for hygiene and cost considerations, it is sometimes impracticable to recover packaging waste (Fernie and Hart, 2001).
The EC directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) (2002/96/EC) and on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (2002/95/ EC) aim to reduce the environmental impact of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and increase its recovery, recycling and reuse. The directives affect producers, distributors and recyclers of EEE, including household appliances, IT and telecommunications equipment, audiovisual equipment (TV, video, hi-fi), lighting, electrical and electronic tools, toys, leisure and sports equipment. Increased recycling of EEE will reduce the total quantity of waste going to final disposal with producers having the responsibility for taking back and recycling items.
A proposal for a UK National Clearing House (NCH) to coordinate producer responsibility for WEEE was given strong support by industry stakeholders during the third round of consultation carried out by the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) in October 2004 (DTI, 2004). However, the DTI considered the proposal too complex and issued further consultation, including developing a network of ‘designated collection facilities’ (DCFs), which could possibly utilize the network of 1,400 existing household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) (Bridgwater and Anderson, 2003). If HWRCs were to play a more significant role in reverse logistics processes, then some of their existing functionality may need to be outsourced to more localized collection systems (eg kerbside/ bring-site green waste collections) to free up space for WEEE consolidation (Cherrett and Hickford, 2006).
The WEEE Directive also includes provision for a distributor take-back scheme for retailers, which establishes a network of designated collection facilities (NetRegs, 2006). Retailers who sell or distribute electrical and/or electronic equipment on to the UK market are obliged to ensure customer take-back of these products at the end of their lives, through a range of methods. This can be through the offer of in-store take-back of old products when a direct replacement is sold to a customer, or through joining a retailer take-back compliance scheme, which must offer alternative take-back arrangements. The latter would be expected to accept all WEEE and not just on a like-for-like basis, and would therefore have greater implications in terms of transport. Businesses that collect and transport WEEE (at the same time as making a delivery) need to be registered with the Environment Agency as waste carriers. Coordinated compliance schemes could ease the problems associated with handling and tracking the return of goods and the associated packaging back to manufacturers via retail outlets.
The gatekeeping function within a reverse supply chain (the point at which returned items are checked to establish whether they can be re-sold, repaired, refurbished, cannibalized, or disposed) can also play an important role in managing the movement of potentially hazardous waste products back up the system. Under the EC 2005 Hazardous Waste Directive (91/689/EEC), producers of hazardous waste as identified in the List of Waste (formerly the European Waste Catalogue) must register with the Environment Agency before they can move material from their premises. Exemptions from registration apply if less than 200 kg of hazardous waste is produced over a 12-month period, and the premises is a shop or office that is used for the collection of WEEE, and a registered carrier is being used to remove the material. The mixing of hazardous and non-hazardous waste is strictly prohibited and reverse logistics operations where the gatekeeping process leads to significant de-construction and cannibalization need to carefully consider waste separation and segregation. Both of these outcomes can lead to additional transport and handling costs. A waste carrier’s licence would be needed and drivers would require special training in order to carry hazardous cargo. The consignee would also be required to keep detailed records of waste disposition and provide quarterly reports to the Environment Agency detailing the quantities and origins of wastes. Such documentation enables the movement of hazardous waste to be tracked and managed responsibly until it reaches authorized disposal or recovery facilities.