Big opportunities for firms to clean up

Aug 26 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

THE North East could be missing an economic trick by dragging its heels when it comes to recycling and waste disposal, but moves to improve our performance could create significant business opportunities, as Karen Dent reports.

WHERE there's muck there's brass appears to be one cliche that has a ring of truth in our increasingly environmentally conscious world.

There is money to be made in recycling and reprocessing rubbish and demand for services is set to increase as the Government raises the bar on how much waste must be diverted from landfill.

But the region is not making the most of these opportunities, according to WRAP (Waste Resources & Action Programme), the Government-funded not-for-profit company that works with businesses, councils and individuals to reduce waste and encourage recycling.

“For the most part, the North East is currently missing out on a potential revenue stream because the recycling and reprocessing industry in the region is not as developed compared to some other areas of the UK,” said WRAP’s regional business adviser Richard Harris.

“Landfill is still a significant means of waste disposal within the region, and there aren’t enough recycling and reprocessing companies to deal with the recyclable waste being generated.

“The relative lack of recycling capacity has meant that much of the material collected for recycling in the North East leaves the region for reprocessing in other parts of the country.” There are two major reasons why the North East should raise its game. The landfill tax - the UK’s first environmental tax, introduced in 1996 – is increasing at £8 a tonne on April 1 every year until 2013 and reaches £48 a tonne next year. And there is also money to be made from the reprocessed materials that come out the other side.

Mr Harris said: “All recyclable materials have a potential value, but the recycling industry is at its most profitable when items of waste, such as glass, paper and plastics, are processed into secondary raw materials that can be used to make new products. Recycled materials are increasingly popular with manufacturers as an alternative to expensive new raw materials.

“Because of the potential business benefits associated with recycling waste generated locally, an increasing number of waste management companies in the North East are now looking at the options available to develop their businesses.”

The North East’s mining heritage means the region still has space for landfill compared with elsewhere , according to the Environment Agency (EA). In the past, this has been the cheap and easy option for getting rid of rubbish.

That has contributed to the region’s comparatively poor performance on recycling: EA figures for 2007-8 show that the English average for recycled household waste was 34.5%; the North East achieved 28.4% – the lowest in England apart from London. The national target is 40% for next year. These figures refer to household rather than commercial and industrial waste. Business rubbish figures are hard to quantify because not all waste produced in one area stays there, so waste from the North East could be disposed of in another region and vice versa.

One North East’s environment senior specialist Ray Waters said: “The big difference between municipal waste – where there is a lot of information – and commercial and industrial waste is the way it is collected and treated.

“It can be quite difficult to quantify where it [business waste] ends up. Back in 2002/3 was the last time the Environment Agency took a nationwide survey on industrial and commercial waste and we are still relying on that data. In the region, we are now undertaking a survey of commercial and industrial waste.”

It is essential, he says, that this sort of data is available to give businesses information about potential openings.

“We can then say to potential investors, these are the business opportunities that could be around that waste material – for example plastics recycling – is it worth doing it in the North East and where could we do it? It helps them to make a decision.”