Calls to prioritise a DRS for lithium batteries and vapes, as senior waste leaders debate challenges and growth opportunities

Speaking as part of a senior panel discussion at the recent Environmental Services & Solutions Expo, held at the NEC, Chairman, Neil Grundon, was resolute in his comments about the sector’s triple challenges of waste crime, lithium battery/vape fires and legislation.

All three topics were covered in a keynote session, entitled Leading the UK Waste Sector: Strategy, Change and Future Direction, chaired by environmental criminal defence lawyer Dr Anna Willetts, with fellow participants Marc Angell from Biffa; Rory Brien from FCC Environment; Mark Burrows-Smith from Encyclis; and John Wilkinson from SUEZ.

In a packed session – standing room only – the debate kicked off on the topic of fires, with Neil saying it was “crucial” to prioritise a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for vapes and lithium batteries above DRS plans for cans and bottles.

Quite how this would work in practice engendered further discussion and the general feeling was that while retailers and producers should be held to account, the biggest challenge would be how to enforce the legislation. Simpler Recycling was referenced as a case in point, with some saying that the lack of enforcement following its introduction has made it “confusing” to know how seriously it is being taken.

There was however, widespread agreement in what is a capital intensive and infrastructure intensive industry, that something needs to be done to protect its assets from the dangers of lithium battery and vape fires.

And, as Neil put it: “On the one hand there seems to be too much law, and on the other, not enough.

Talking of legislation and enforcement, the debate moved neatly on to waste crime, with progress made by both HMRC and the Environment Agency (EA) to crack down on unscrupulous operators being welcomed.

It was however, made clear that with incredibly tight margins for legitimate operators mean they have to keep prices low; combined with limited resources for those trying to tackle the problem; there is still much more to do.

And while the first phase of Digital Waste Tracking will be introduced in October, the point was made that if you are an illegitimate operator you won’t be in the system anyway.

“We are not a charity, we don’t do this for love – the government loves taxing legitimate businesses and that small margin is being hit time and again. Legitimate businesses will deal with legitimate waste companies, but the business world is under a lot of pressure and if the waste price becomes too high then they will look for a way out. If someone with a bright and shiny lorry that looks the part and says they can do the work cheaper, people won’t care and that’s where we have a problem.

“Businesses have got used to paying low prices (to dispose of their waste) and we need the regulators to step in so we can get prices up and in turn, this will allow us to invest in our infrastructure.”

The panel then moved on to discuss wider issues within the sector, including decarbonisation of Energy from Waste facilities, the state of the market and potential growth areas.

Among the topics were a perceived oversupply of waste operators leading to the potential for market consolidation; the challenges of cyber security impacting on operating technology; and the need to develop additional infrastructure to cope with future waste streams such as soft plastics.

Managing food waste was identified as a growth area, as was an increased focus on recognising the value in waste by pre-treating it before it goes to incineration. It was a theme that Neil warmed to, concluding: “I am very excited by the fact we are now (somewhat ironically) seeing the first-generation of renewables technology, including wind turbines, insulation and solar panels coming through the waste chain.

“These are among the materials that need pre-processing and new materials are coming through all the time – we are certainly not going to run out of rubbish.”