Last month, the Government announced an overhaul of the planning system, which was on its way to growing the economy and supporting the Government’s ‘Plan for Change’ milestone of building 1.5 million homes by 2029. The updated NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) was subsequently published on 12th December in response to the proposed reforms to the NPPF and other changes to the planning system consultation.
Below, we delve into the wonderful world of the NPPF (including other relevant Government policies), its significance to the waste and recycling industry and how it will impact the Government’s ambition to work towards a more sustainable and efficient approach to resource use and management rates in the UK.
The NPPF is built around providing development in a sustainable manner and states: “The purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of homes, commercial
development and supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner. At a very high level, the objective of sustainable development can be summarised as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The NPPF goes on to state that: “The Framework should be read in conjunction with the Government’s planning policy for waste.”
Whilst there is a separate policy document specifically related to waste, the NPPF is a key planning document built around sustainable development. It goes on to mention the word ‘waste’ a total of 16 times, and ‘recycling’ is mentioned just once. However, the NPPF’s narrative on aggregate products is a little more promising: “safeguard existing, planned and potential sites for……. the handling, processing and distribution of substitute, recycled and secondary aggregate material.”
Whilst the above shows some clear support for facilitating the sustainable use of minerals and recycled products to support the milestone of building 1.5 million homes, we have yet to see any discussion (or acknowledgement) regarding the supply of mineral products for these new homes. It’s almost as if the Government has overlooked the need for materials to build homes (and they must meet the NPPF’s key objective of sustainability).
The other relevant Government policy in relation to waste is the National Planning Policy for Waste (NPPW), published in October 2014 – over 10 years ago!
This policy discusses how positive planning plays a key role in delivering the country’s waste ambitions through: “ensuring that waste management is considered alongside other spatial planning concerns, such as housing and transport, recognising the positive contribution that waste management can make to the development of sustainable communities.”The 2014 NPPW says all the right things and directs Local Authorities to identify opportunities for waste management needs, including suitable sites. However, many Local Authorities have grossly out-of-date data, which does not support the real need for waste management facilities in some areas. The requirement for monitoring in the NPPW is also often overlooked in Local Authorities, further impacting the need for up-to-date, relevant data.
To conclude, the Government’s overhaul of the planning system has begun! However, it’s unlikely to directly drive the key requirement of increasing recycling rates by driving waste up the waste hierarchy and considering waste management alongside other planning concerns (as required by the Government) as the industry has continued to be overlooked. However, as an industry, we will continue to do those things and ensure waste recycling facilities are planned, implemented and operated in the right place at the right time to continue driving recycling rates in the UK.
