On 20 November, Jochen Behr, DS Smith’s Head of Recycling, opened a UK parliamentary reception to launch a new report into potential policy measures to increase the use of recycled materials in manufacturing products. The report, titled Demand Recycled: Policy Options for Increasing the Demand for Post-Consumer Recycled Materials, was commissioned by the Resource Association and WWF UK and produced by Eunomia Research and Consulting. Responding to the growing need for detail around the upcoming Resources and Waste Strategy, the report investigates the range of policy options available for increasing the demand for recycling materials and evaluates the effectiveness of a range of proposed policy interventions.
“DS Smith is delighted to be involved in the launch of the Demand Recycled report. The resources industry requires clarity on how to increase demand for recycled post-consumer material, and this report breaks new ground in the debate, bringing fresh detail and perspectives to the discussion,” said Behr.
The report reviews the approaches used to date to increase recycling, investigates the causes of market failure and considers a wide range of potential policy measures to enhance the market for recycled material. It also investigates in detail a short-list of four types of policy measures to increase demand: materials taxation; a fee-rebate (or ‘feebate’) system; tradable credits and the establishment of a single Producer Responsibility organisation. It recommends further consideration of a ‘feeable’ system as the most attractive policy option. The report suggests that a single compliance scheme and single organisation for producer responsibility would be complementary to any policy option used to increase demand for PCR.
