Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Accepted
Significant data gaps and outdated information hinder waste production and recycling tracking.
Recommendation
To track progress and refine its plans the Department needs good information on outcomes such as waste production, landfilling and recycling. There are serious gaps and limitations in the Department’s data, for example commercial and industrial waste represents around one-fifth of total waste generated but the Department does not publish data on how much of it is recycled as it does not yet have a robust methodology for determining this.47 In Defra’s November 2022 resources and waste strategy progress monitoring report, nine out of 23 indicators were almost three years out of date at publication, with no data for a further three indicators which are under development.48
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will implement a mandatory waste tracking service by April 2025 to capture comprehensive waste information. It is also developing a Data Strategy and will publish new statistics on residual waste, municipal recycling, and carbon emissions by July 2024.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: April 2025 6.2 In 2024, the waste tracking service will be publicly available to users on a voluntary basis – this is expected to happen in phases with specific groups of users being invited to use the service over time. Green list waste exports are the first phase to have successfully transitioned to private beta at the end of 2023. 6.3 From April 2025, legislation will come into force across the UK, subject to approval across all four legislatures. The requirements of the regulations will be mandatory from this point and service charges will also be payable. This will provide the foundations for capturing information on waste generated and treated, including waste recycling. The Government response of the consultation outcome is published on Gov.UK. 6.4 The department is currently developing a Data Strategy, identifying and filling gaps around the required regular ongoing data to run policy and monitor progress within the Resources & Waste Strategy and Environmental Improvement Programme. This includes progress against targets in residual waste and municipal recycling rates and, if necessary, introducing legislation for new data reporting requirements. 6.5 The department’s key performance metrics are publicly reported and updated at least annually where possible. These form the core part of the 'Monitoring Progress' reports and track strategic priorities in the Resources & Waste Strategy. 6.6 The department is increasing the number of regular published statistics and from this year it will be up to at least 11 publications which is an ambitious target. Later in 2024, the department intends to address key data gaps by publishing new statistics on: • Residual waste by material type, to assess progress against the residual waste target, planned for May 2024. • Municipal recycling, using a new definition of Municipal Waste, probably July 2024. • Drivers of consumption-based carbon emissions, probably June 2024. 6.7 The department is also collecting new survey data as part of the Resources & Waste Strategy Evaluation Programme, which will give us valuable new insights as policies are implemented.