www.cymru.gov.uk

Dr Andy Rees

Head of Waste Strategy

Waste & Resource Efficiency Division,

Department for Environment and Sustainable

Development

Welsh Government

Committee on Climate Change meeting

Cardiff 17 April

Norwegian Church Arts Centre

Delivering the circular economy in

Wales – the Welsh Government’s

strategic approach

Key threats • Economy

– Waste is a cost to business / raw material prices are rising

– There is only one planet’s worth of resources, yet we use three’s worth - resource security / critical materials

• Social – Loss of jobs if manufacturing companies can’t secure an affordable, reliable supply of raw

materials

– Increasing food and material poverty if household food and everyday items become too expensive

• Environmental – Increased raw material mining in Wales and associated environmental impact

– Rising global GHG levels because of the impact of our high consumption levels

– Continued destruction globally of wildlife species because of habitat loss caused by our high consumption levels

Key opportunities • To save costs to business through reducing waste, increasing reuse & recycling, and

reducing landfill

• Securing cheaper secondary resources / critical materials from reuse and recyclate, ‘mined’ from Welsh/UK recyclate

• New jobs in reuse and recycling

• Increased resilience for Welsh manufacturing businesses – jobs protected

• Food redistribution supports those in food poverty

• Full devolved ability to significantly reduce direct and indirect GHG emissions

• Wales using only its fair share of the world’s resources (one planet)

• Contribute to renewable energy (from AD)

A reminder: Why do we need a circular economy?

Climate Change: The impact of our

consumption on CO2 emissions

Source: Defra, March 2015

Ambition from the Welsh Government

• Programme for Government priorities: – Jobs – including green growth

– Tackling poverty

– Resilience

• Sustainable Development (“One Wales, One Planet”)

• Climate Change Strategy

• Well-being of Future Generations Bill

• Towards Zero Waste

Transition to a circular economy

Example:

Leasing of

photocopiers

- Xerox Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Ambition: Wales waste strategy -

Towards Zero Waste: key milestones to

the goal of one planet resource use

2025: Towards Zero

Waste Significant waste reduction

(including reuse) (27%

reduction)

Recycling rate of at least 70%

AD food waste priority

‘Closed loop recycling’ systems

(high quality, separate

collection)

Residual waste to high

efficiency EfW

As close to zero landfill as

possible

2050: Achieving Zero

Waste

Reduce our share of Wales’

ecological footprint to ‘one

Wales: one planet’ levels by

2050 (65% reduction of

waste)

Produce no residual waste

through SCP - any waste

that is produced is re-used/

recycled (at 100%).

Waste prevention and 70% recycling

targets

Waste Prevention, SCP, 100% recycling

2010

2025

2050

Climate Change Strategy for Wales:

Chapter 12 Resource efficiency and

waste emission reduction

Wales planned emissions reductions Direct emissions

• Actions in diverting biodegradable waste from landfill to recycling, composting

and anaerobic digestions are estimated to deliver savings of 660,000 tonnes

of CO2e by 2020 in terms of direct emissions

Indirect emissions:

• Commercial waste: 70% recycling by 2025 will yield a saving of 440,000 CO2e

• Industrial waste: 70% recycling by 2025 will yield a saving of 190,000 CO2e

• Municipal waste: 70% recycling by 2025 will yield a saving of 432,000 CO2e

• Waste prevention: – Wales Waste Prevention Programme in place

– Targets set

– Delivery agents funded

– Voluntary agreements for major products / sectors in place

– Reuse Alliance supported

– Public sector sustainable procurement

– Influence behaviour – at point of purchase and at home

– Eco Design / new business models

– Advice & support (Resource Efficiency Wales)

• Recycling: – Setting local authorities statutory recycling targets under the Waste

(Wales) Measure 2010

– Provided c£600+ million in annual ring fenced funding to our local

authorities since 2002

– Municipal food waste treatment (AD) procurement programme

– Set up and funded the Collaborative Change Programme

– Setting an aspirational 70% recycling target by 2025 for the other key

waste streams.

– Environment Bill provisions to increase the recycling of business and

public sector waste

– Published the Collections Blueprint for local authorities –

recommending that they follow a kerbside sort approach

Strategic actions to achieve a circular economy for Wales

• Proposed in our Environment Bill White

Paper to introduce the following legal

requirements: – A requirement on all businesses and public

sector bodies to keep seven key recyclable

materials separate at source (including food)

– An additional requirement for food, cardboard

and wood to be collected separately

– A ban on recyclables wastes to EfW

– A ban on recyclable wastes to Landfill

– A ban on the disposal of food waste to sewer

Environment Bill

Progress so far in Wales – meeting

targets • Recycling (70% target for 2025)

– Municipal waste: 54.3% recycling in 2013/14

– Commercial waste: 68% recycling in 2012 (37% in

2007)

– Industrial waste: 50% recycling in 2012 (59% in

2007)

– Construction and demolition waste (90% target for

2025): The preparation for re-use, recycling and other

material recovery rate was 87% in 2012

• Waste prevention (27% reduction by 2025)

– Household waste: 14% reduction from 2006/7 to

2012/13

– Commercial waste: 1% reduction from 2007 to 2012

– Industrial waste: 5.5% increase from 2007 to 2012

Progress on reducing direct carbon emissions in the waste

sector

Achieving the vision - in conclusion To achieve a circular economy, reduce our

consumption carbon footprint and meet our well-

being goals, Wales, and its people need:

• A far bigger focus on the inner CE circles – eco-design, longer life, more reuse etc

• A resource management industry leading the drive towards a circular economy for Wales, and providing maximum social benefit

• With a consistent, high quality, source separated approach to recyclate collection (Collections Blueprint)

• With manufacturing businesses becoming more resource efficient

• And retailers playing their part to improve sustainable consumption

• With everyone working strategically and collaboratively to achieve the collective good for Wales, its businesses and its people

• And with effective working with industrial, commercial, public sector and public audiences to achieve a circular economy in Wales, or as close to it as we can feasibly get!

www.cymru.gov.uk