DS Smith urges recycling education upgrades

The European Union’s Article 11 of the Waste Framework Directive states that recycling collections should “meet the necessary quality standards for the relevant recycling sectors,” says Mathew Prosser, commercial director in Europe for London-based DS Smith.

“The new regulations that came into force at the beginning of January put quality at the heart of recycling,” says Prosser. “As a company that has quality integral to all its business activities, this is good news.”

However, adds Prosser, for a quality upgrade to occur, more knowledge about how to collect recyclable items will need to reach the wider public.

The Waste Regulations Route Map describes high-quality recycling as “material that can be reprocessed back into a product of similar quality to what it was originally—what is known as closed loop recycling.”

Prosser says that is an idea that goes hand-in-hand with source-separated recycling. “The regulations reinforce the requirement to collect materials separately to attain the best quality that can generate the highest value and ensure materials remain in the economy for as long as possible,” he comments. “This is the best way to avoid unnecessary contamination that devalues material and means it’s difficult to stay true to the waste hierarchy.”

For source separation to go smoothly, it “needs to be supported by a good communication plan that explains to householders and businesses the reasons why materials should be collected in this way,” says Prosser.

Prosser refers to a report from United Kingdom-based WRAP called “3Rs Tracking Survey 2014: Recycling Attitudes and Reported Behaviour. “The report noted that just under half of U.K. households claimed to dispose one or more items in general rubbish that are collected as part of a curbside recycling service, and about three-quarters of those surveyed could recycle more effectively,” says Prosser.

“There’s a clear link between where materials end up once they’ve been put out for recycling and improving the quality of said materials,” he continues. “Greater understanding of the value of these resources will do much to boost efficient recycling. These new regulations will enhance the focus on the quality message, imperative to maximizing recycling and ensuring the best possible value is generated as a result.”