Your questions answered: Waste and resource industry experts share their insights for 2025
If 2024 was a year of transition, 2025 is the year of delivery. With foundations in place, it’s now time to bring policies into action. This was the consensus and central theme of our recent webinar, “A new year, a new vision for the UK waste and resources industry”.
Hosted by Dr. Adam Read MBE, Chief External Affairs and Sustainability Officer at SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, the webinar featured insights from Defra Director of Resource and Waste Emma Bourne, Green Alliance Senior Fellow and Head of Resource Policy Libby Peake and WRAP Director of Insights and Innovation Claire Shrewsbury.
The session explored key developments in the country’s waste legislations and circular economy policies, including the new Simpler Recycling and packaging reforms, Emissions Trading Scheme and food waste regulations. Despite the challenges, the panellists were optimistic and shared practical actions for removing barriers along the journey to long-term sustainability.
But the real value of the session was getting top tips and valuable responses to the huge number of questions that were being submitted on-line throughout the session. Here’s a peek into the most relevant questions our attendees had and the responses from our expert panel:
Q&A
On strategy and policy…
- Should waste not have a national strategy as it’s now a national issue?
The government committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has set this as one of Defra’s top five priorities.
The Secretary of State has convened a Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy that will govern, join up and drive circular economy work across government departments to support the government’s missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower.
To support the government in achieving this goal, a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts has also been convened from across government, industry, academia and relevant non-governmental organisations to help us develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. We are working closely with other government departments with strong interests in the delivery of a circular economy.
The taskforce will help us develop a Circular Economy Strategy and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The outputs will aim to support economic growth, deliver green jobs, promote efficient and productive use of resources, minimise negative environmental impacts and accelerate to Net Zero.
The Circular Economy Strategy will be England only in scope (aside from policy areas that are reserved competence, e.g. waste exports), but we will actively be looking for opportunities to align with the work that the devolved government have underway. Close cooperation between the Four Nations on the circular economy agenda is critical to our shared success and the realisation of a circular economy in the UK.
On Simpler Recycling and food waste…
- Will we see some hard-hitting national communication campaigns alongside Simpler Recycling to support local authorities (LAs) with behaviour change and increase awareness amongst households on how to both reduce waste and recycle well to reduce contamination and maximise recycling?
The Simpler Recycling reforms will make recycling easier, enabling citizens to recycle the same materials across England. Local authorities are best placed to communicate the new collection requirements with their residents when rolling out services. To support LAs, we will provide transitional resource funding for food waste communications. Under packaging extended producer responsibility (pEPR), producers will be required to contribute to the costs of public information campaigns to promote the correct recycling and disposal of packaging waste. We are working with WRAP to provide guidance on best practice, including the recently published ‘Household Food Waste Collections: Communications Guidance and Templates‘, to help LAs deliver services to all households.
We also plan to work with our internal Social Research and Behavioural Insights Team to further consider citizen behaviour change and possible interventions in this space. Furthermore, the UK government and devolved governments have committed to introducing a mandatory labelling regime to make it easier for consumers to understand how to recycle packaging correctly.
- Can we instruct our staff to take their food waste home to save on cost of having a food recycling bin in our smaller stores?
Workplaces should seek their own legal advice on this, however, if food waste is left or disposed of on the premises (through litter bins, etc), it must be separated from recycling and residual waste and collected separately as per legislation. Staff should not be taking any business-generated waste home as this would be classed as commercial waste and must be dealt with in line with their duty of care arrangements.
To avoid unnecessary waste, businesses should ensure that all food waste, including tea bags and coffee grounds, is disposed of properly and not in general waste bins. Any occasion where there is a higher than usual volume of food consumed on site is factored into decisions around what waste service is appropriate.
Workplaces can decide the frequency of collections to align with the volume of waste they produce, so it’s possible to arrange for infrequent collections if this suits the needs of the workplace best. They could also consider sharing facilities with neighbouring premises where quantities are small, with the agreement of the neighbouring premises and the waste collector.
On reforms and the circular economy…
- How might pEPR drive a shift to mono-material packaging, and are current fee modulations effectively balancing carbon impact and waste reduction?
Packaging design is crucial in enabling recycling and material choice affects both waste management and carbon impact. Currently, pEPR doesn’t directly account for carbon through modulated fees. However, producers are increasingly focused on reducing their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and are exploring ways to reduce them. This includes examining packaging materials and potentially shifting towards reusable options.
- Recent ‘doom and gloom’ headlines (i.e. ‘toaster tax’, ‘grocery tax’) in mainstream media associated with pEPR and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) reforms attracted attention. How can the industry and Circular Economy Taskforce ensure that these crucial reforms are delivered with a positive message and get consumers and businesses on board?
Careful policy design is needed to avoid harming those affected by the cost-of-living crisis. Early and ongoing engagement with businesses will help prevent backlash. Communicating the positive impact of these changes, such as environmental benefits and potential cost savings, is also essential.
On re-use and repair…
- What incentives are being considered to encourage the public to re-use and recycle?
Reducing VAT on repairs is a common suggestion. Other countries have successfully used vouchers to incentivise repairs and a similar trial is launching soon in London. This is an area being looked at by several working groups right now and is discussed in a soon to launch SUEZ reuse manifesto.
- Why are repairs often more expensive than replacements? For example, my friend was quoted £140 to repair their wireless earbuds, while a new pair cost only £129.
This is a common issue, highlighting the need for affordable repairs. The ‘right to repair’ movement addresses this by focusing on the availability and cost of spare parts. The Green Alliance analysed the repair costs of common kitchen white goods, which you can find from page 4 of the report.
On green jobs and skills…
- As for green jobs, how can we encourage young people to move into the sector? There’s probably more we can do collectively as an industry.
There are loads of opportunities if we get this right. The Green Alliance’s report on ‘Levelling up through circular economy jobs’ offers useful and relevant information.
- What are the key priorities for the waste and resource management sector to attract new talent?
Sector attractiveness, defining key skills and competencies, and showcasing the sector’s importance to delivering net zero are priorities if we were to get the attention of graduates and school leavers. Both Environmental Services Association (ESA) and the Chartered Institution of Waste Management (CIWM) have dedicated working groups focused on these priorities.
The Simpler Recycling reforms will make recycling easier, enabling citizens to recycle the same materials across England. Local authorities are best placed to communicate the new collection requirements with their residents when rolling out services. To support LAs, we will provide transitional resource funding for food waste communications. Under packaging extended producer responsibility (pEPR), producers will be required to contribute to the costs of public information campaigns to promote the correct recycling and disposal of packaging waste. We are working with WRAP to provide guidance on best practice, including the recently published ‘Household Food Waste Collections: Communications Guidance and Templates‘, to help LAs deliver services to all households.
We also plan to work with our internal Social Research and Behavioural Insights Team to further consider citizen behaviour change and possible interventions in this space. Furthermore, the UK government and devolved governments have committed to introducing a mandatory labelling regime to make it easier for consumers to understand how to recycle packaging correctly.
Workplaces should seek their own legal advice on this, however, if food waste is left or disposed of on the premises (through litter bins, etc), it must be separated from recycling and residual waste and collected separately as per legislation. Staff should not be taking any business-generated waste home as this would be classed as commercial waste and must be dealt with in line with their duty of care arrangements.
To avoid unnecessary waste, businesses should ensure that all food waste, including tea bags and coffee grounds, is disposed of properly and not in general waste bins. Any occasion where there is a higher than usual volume of food consumed on site is factored into decisions around what waste service is appropriate.
Workplaces can decide the frequency of collections to align with the volume of waste they produce, so it’s possible to arrange for infrequent collections if this suits the needs of the workplace best. They could also consider sharing facilities with neighbouring premises where quantities are small, with the agreement of the neighbouring premises and the waste collector.
- How might pEPR drive a shift to mono-material packaging, and are current fee modulations effectively balancing carbon impact and waste reduction?
Packaging design is crucial in enabling recycling and material choice affects both waste management and carbon impact. Currently, pEPR doesn’t directly account for carbon through modulated fees. However, producers are increasingly focused on reducing their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and are exploring ways to reduce them. This includes examining packaging materials and potentially shifting towards reusable options.
- Recent ‘doom and gloom’ headlines (i.e. ‘toaster tax’, ‘grocery tax’) in mainstream media associated with pEPR and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) reforms attracted attention. How can the industry and Circular Economy Taskforce ensure that these crucial reforms are delivered with a positive message and get consumers and businesses on board?
Careful policy design is needed to avoid harming those affected by the cost-of-living crisis. Early and ongoing engagement with businesses will help prevent backlash. Communicating the positive impact of these changes, such as environmental benefits and potential cost savings, is also essential.
On re-use and repair…
- What incentives are being considered to encourage the public to re-use and recycle?
Reducing VAT on repairs is a common suggestion. Other countries have successfully used vouchers to incentivise repairs and a similar trial is launching soon in London. This is an area being looked at by several working groups right now and is discussed in a soon to launch SUEZ reuse manifesto.
- Why are repairs often more expensive than replacements? For example, my friend was quoted £140 to repair their wireless earbuds, while a new pair cost only £129.
This is a common issue, highlighting the need for affordable repairs. The ‘right to repair’ movement addresses this by focusing on the availability and cost of spare parts. The Green Alliance analysed the repair costs of common kitchen white goods, which you can find from page 4 of the report.
On green jobs and skills…
- As for green jobs, how can we encourage young people to move into the sector? There’s probably more we can do collectively as an industry.
There are loads of opportunities if we get this right. The Green Alliance’s report on ‘Levelling up through circular economy jobs’ offers useful and relevant information.
- What are the key priorities for the waste and resource management sector to attract new talent?
Sector attractiveness, defining key skills and competencies, and showcasing the sector’s importance to delivering net zero are priorities if we were to get the attention of graduates and school leavers. Both Environmental Services Association (ESA) and the Chartered Institution of Waste Management (CIWM) have dedicated working groups focused on these priorities.
Reducing VAT on repairs is a common suggestion. Other countries have successfully used vouchers to incentivise repairs and a similar trial is launching soon in London. This is an area being looked at by several working groups right now and is discussed in a soon to launch SUEZ reuse manifesto.
This is a common issue, highlighting the need for affordable repairs. The ‘right to repair’ movement addresses this by focusing on the availability and cost of spare parts. The Green Alliance analysed the repair costs of common kitchen white goods, which you can find from page 4 of the report.
- As for green jobs, how can we encourage young people to move into the sector? There’s probably more we can do collectively as an industry.
There are loads of opportunities if we get this right. The Green Alliance’s report on ‘Levelling up through circular economy jobs’ offers useful and relevant information.
- What are the key priorities for the waste and resource management sector to attract new talent?
Sector attractiveness, defining key skills and competencies, and showcasing the sector’s importance to delivering net zero are priorities if we were to get the attention of graduates and school leavers. Both Environmental Services Association (ESA) and the Chartered Institution of Waste Management (CIWM) have dedicated working groups focused on these priorities.
These questions were only the tip of the iceberg from the record-breaking queries we’ve received during the webinar, which ranged from practical to policy level concerns. But it clearly opened the door wider to relevant conversations among stakeholders about important industry issues. Our messages from the panellists? It’s to keep going and just doing what’s needed, to not be complacent and to face these changes and challenges with optimism.
We hope to continue this important conversation forward as there’s still much to be done. Our collective journey towards a more sustainable and circular economy will require continued collaboration, adaptability and committed engagement. Let’s keep the momentum going.
If you missed the live webinar session, you can watch it on-demand here.