CONSULTATIONS

Defra consultation on a Third Sector strategy
This 12 week consultation covers a wide range of issues, including looking at how the third sector can make an even bigger difference in tackling climate change, helping to protect the environment and supporting strong rural communities. It also considers how Defra can work best with a wide range of third sector organisations.
The results will feed into Defra’s Third Sector Strategy – a plan for how the department will work with this sector in the future. It will look at 5 areas of common interest: campaigning; strengthening communities; transforming public services; encouraging social enterprise; and building partnerships.

Consultation deadline: 22 February 2008

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/
thirdsector-strategy/index.htm

Informal consultation: review of Inert Waste Regulation
Defra, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Environment Agency are undertaking a review of the regulation of inert waste.  The aim is to adopt a more proportionate and risk-based regulatory approach to the inert waste recovery and disposal operations. 
The Government's aim is to regulate in a way that minimises burdens on business, whilst securing outcomes which maximise resource efficiency and protect the environment and human health.  To do this, they are reviewing the existing regulatory regimes and in particular the requirements of the Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) and how they impact on inert waste management and identify how they can be improved and simplified.   

Consultation deadline: 21 March 2008

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment
/waste/topics/index.htm#inertwaste

British Retail Consortium and WRAP Consultation on standardised recycling labelling
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have launched a consultation with Government, Local Authorities, manufacturers and retailers to make sure the standardised
recycling labelling for packaging scheme has widespread acceptance. BRC is proposing packaging will be divided into three categories from 'widely recycled' to 'not currently recycled', depending on how likely it is a
customer's local authority will accept the material.

http://www.brc.org.uk/details04.asp?id=1278

Petition: Charity exemption from VAT
Charities incur substantial amounts of tax when they spend the money that is generously donated to them. This is because the VAT system, which is based on the EU's Sixth VAT Directive, treats charities as the final consumer - even when they are not. A new petition has been set up on the Downing Street website calling for charities to be exempt from all Value Added Tax (VAT).
http://www.ctrg.org.uk/home

Consultation Document on the Implementation of the Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators Directive (2006/66/EC)
The Government and the Devolved Administrations are seeking the views of producers, distributors, collectors and recyclers of batteries and accumulators and items containing batteries and accumulators, and any other interested parties, on possible approaches for implementing provisions in the Directive relating to the production and sale of new batteries and accumulators, and the collection, treatment, recycling and disposal of waste batteries and accumulators.

Closing dates: 13 March 2008 & 31 March 2008 (N Ireland).
Further info: Peter Cottrell 020 7215 1330 batteryconsultation@berr.gsi.gov.uk

REPORTS

Waste Strategy for England 2007
The Government published Waste Strategy for England 2007 on 24 May 2007; it sets out their vision for sustainable waste management.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/strategy/index.htm

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive)
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) aims to minimise the impact of electrical and electronic goods on the environment, by increasing re-use and recycling and reducing the amount of WEEE going to landfill. It seeks to achieve this by making producers responsible for financing the collection, treatment, and recovery of waste electrical equipment, and by obliging distributors to allow consumers to return their waste equipment free of charge.

BERR has published specific guidance for local authorities, producer compliance schemes, distributors, re-use and refurbishment organisations, and approved authorised treatment facilities to explain their roles within the WEEE system.

http://www.berr.gov.uk/innovation/sustainability/weee/page30269.html

Factsheets on WEEE explaining the obligations for producers, distributors, approved exporters, treatment facilities, business users and consumers

http://www.dti.gov.uk/innovation/sustainability/weee
/Factsheets/page41148.html

The Department of Work and Pensions commissioning strategy interim report
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has recently published their commissioning strategy - interim report, which outlines the emerging thinking, for changes to the way in which employment support is delivered. The strategy follows the consultation on the Green Paper ‘In work, better off’
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2007/com-strategy/cs-interim-report-07.pdf

Kitchen Waste Composting Trial – end of trial report
A report on the two-year food waste trial which involved 7,569 houses in Preston's Deepdale and Tulketh area.
A partnership between Lancashire County Council, Preston city council and the Lancashire Environmental Fund.

Business Link Social Enterprise Guide
The government’s Business Link agency has produced a guide which aims to explain the reasons why you might consider setting up a social enterprise and the benefits of doing so. It will also look at some of the issues you will need to think about and will give examples of existing social enterprises working in the commercial and public sector environments.

www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/
layer?r.l1=1073858805&topicId=1079870761&r.l2=1073859137

UK Voluntary Sector Workforce Almanac 2007
This publication is produced in partnership between NCVO and the UK Workforce Hub and represents one of the first outputs of a voluntary sector workforce research programme.

http://www.ukworkforcehub.org.uk/

Government Consultation Report
The Government’s response to the consultation on Effective Consultation. A new Code of Practice is still to be developed but the response has taken on board the criticisms voiced by many organisations which regularly respond to Government consultations.

http://bre.berr.gov.uk/regulation/documents/
consultation/pdf/gov_response_071207.pdf

The New Performance Framework for Local Authorities and Local Authority Partnerships: Single Set of National Indicators
The new national indicator set for local authorities and local authority partnerships. The new national indicators will be the only means of measuring national priorities that have been agreed by Government. The number of national indicators has been radically reduced, from the around 1200 that local authorities and their partners report on at present, to 198. The headline definitions for the 198 are contained in the document.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/
localgovernment/nationalindicator

Defra Municipal waste management statistics 2006/07
The first set of estimates from the Department’s 2006/7 survey of municipal waste. The results are based on information supplied by local authorities in England to WasteDataFlow. 

Municipal waste arisings and management
The total amount of collected municipal waste has increased to an estimated 29.1 million tonnes in England in 2006/07 compared to 28.7 million tonnes in 2005/06, an increase of 1.4 per cent.  The average annual increase in municipal waste from 2001/02 to 2006/07 was 0.2 per cent. In total, 41.8 per cent (12.2 million tonnes) of municipal waste had some sort of value (recycling, composting, energy from waste and fuel manufacture) recovered from it in 2006/07, a rise from 37.2 per cent (10.7 million tonnes) in 2005/06.

The proportion of municipal waste being recycled or composted increased from 27.1 per cent in 2005/06 to 30.7 per cent in 2006/07. The proportion of waste incinerated with energy recovery increased from 10 per cent in 2005/06 to 11 per cent in 2006/07. The proportion of municipal waste being disposed of in landfill has continued to decrease from 62 per cent in 2005/06 to 58 per cent in 2006/07.

The actual tonnage of municipal waste disposed of in landfill has also decreased again from 17.9 million tonnes in 2005/06 to 16.9 million tonnes in 2006/07.

Household waste and recycling
In 2006/07, household sources accounted for 89 per cent of municipal waste, 25.9 million tonnes, which equates to around 509 kg of household waste per person per annum. 

The amount of waste collected from household sources increased by 1.6 per cent in 2006/7, from 25.5 million tonnes in 2005/06 to 25.9 million tonnes in 2006/07.  The average annual change in total household waste over the last five years is 0.3 per cent.

The proportion of household waste recycled (including composting) has continued to increase, rising from 26.7 per cent in 2005/06 to 30.9 per cent in 2006/07. This increase in the national recycling rate of 4.2 percentage points is the same as the growth rate achieved last year.  

In absolute terms the amount of household waste sent for recycling or composting has increased by 17 per cent, from 6.8 million tonnes in 2005/06 to 8.0 million tonnes in 2006/07.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/wastats/index.htm

Third Sector Review
The conclusion of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), published on 9 October 2007, confirms the resources available to the Office of the Third Sector to implement the policy programmes originally set out in the third sector review. It also outlines how the third sector contributes to the delivery of key priority outcomes through the new Public Service Agreement (PSA) framework.

Over the period of the spending review (2008-11), the Office of the Third Sector will invest over £515 million in third sector programmes.
£80 million small grants programme for community action and voice
£50 million local endowment match fund, which will enable local independent foundations to develop community endowments to provide sustainability in future grant making
£117 million of new resources available for youth volunteering, through the organisation
£85 million for Capacitybuilders, for third sector infrastructure development
£65 million for Futurebuilders
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/
third_sector_review/csr.aspx
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spending_review/spend_csr07/spend_csr07_index.cfm

CIWM Health & Safety Scoping Study
This report presents the finding of a scoping study undertaken to gauge the existing H & S awareness and competence in the sector: exploring current approaches and initiatives, their relative successes, and identifying gaps and weaknesses to inform the direction of the Initiative in the future.

http://www.ciwm.co.uk/mediastore/FILES/15584.pdf

Social enterprise Action Plan - One year on. Social Enterprise day 15 November 2007
The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) launched the ‘Social Enterprise Action Plan’on 16 November 2006, building on the Government’s 2002 Social Enterprise Strategy. It set out the Government’s cross-departmental commitment to create the conditions for thousands more social enterprises to thrive by:

• fostering a culture of social enterprise
• ensuring the right information and advice are available to social enterprises
• enabling social enterprises to access appropriate finance
• enabling social enterprises to work with government.

One year on, they are looking at what has been achieved and the way forward.
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/upload/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
third_sector/social_enterprise_action_plan_one_year_on.pdf

Residual Waste Research – Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth (FoE) have just published a report which analyses what materials are likely to be in residual municipal waste after high levels of reuse, recycling and composting. The research, carried out by EnviroCentre Consultants, found that a large reduction in residual wastes could potentially be achieved by improving capture rates, and through addressing some specific high-tonnage waste streams.

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/residual_waste.pdf

New rules for non-hazardous waste
From 30 October this year new rules apply for non-hazardous waste. Liquid wastes are banned from landfill and other waste must be treated before it can be landfilled. Factsheets, briefings and guidance to help businesses meet the changes:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/1745440/444663/landfill/

Fact sheet for general business

http://publications.environment-agency.gov.uk/pdf/GEHO0507BMQM-e-e.pdf

Volunteering Works
This report providing overwhelming evidence that volunteering affects key areas of government policy has been launched by Volunteering England. This publication from the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR), brings together for the first time the best evidence that demonstrates the positive impact of volunteering in five key policy areas: development; safer and stronger communities; social inclusion; quality of life and lifelong learning.
http://www.volunteering.org.uk

Health & safety training: guidelines for the waste and recycling industry
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/waste21.pdf

This 'good practice' guidance was written in consultation with the Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum (WISH). It does not aim to be comprehensive but gives examples of good practice within the industry. It is for managers and those organising training within the waste management and recycling industry.

The HSE document sets out guidelines on the basic requirements for training in five key areas:

. slips, trips and falls

. personal protective equipment

. manual handling

. workplace transport

. legislation and responsibilities

Defra waste and resources research programme

A waste and resources evidence programme to help deliver the Government's ambitious waste policies has been outlined by Defra. The Waste and Resources Evidence Strategy 2007-2011 summarises the key areas where research will be commissioned and evidence sought over the next few years. The programme will inform delivery of the Government's Waste Strategy for England 2007, published in May, which set out priorities on waste prevention, minimisation, recycling, recovery, and energy production.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2007/070919a.htm

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/wip/research/index.htm

Revised WEEE Guidance Document
A revised guidance document covering implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations has been published by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR).

http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file41165.pdf

Community Composting Activity in the UK 2006
A new report on Community Composting Activity in the UK has been published by The Open University. The most comprehensive review of the community composting sector undertaken to-date. It highlights the diversity of groups and organisations involved in community composting; reports on numbers of sites and material composted; the involvement of volunteers and trainees; the type of work undertaken with local authorities and explores wider social and environmental objectives of different groups.

http://technology.open.ac.uk/iws/docs/cc%20report_Final.pdf our waste --general business

Your waste your responsibility - Environment Agency fact sheet for businesses Changes for business waste take place from 30 October 2007, landfills can no longer accept untreated waste from businesses.  http://publications.environment- agency.gov.uk/pdf/GEHO0507BMQM-e-e.pdf

Sustainable development indicators in your pocket 2007

DEFRA latest published figures on UK's 'environmental, social and economic wellbeing. Covers a range of issues including health, housing, jobs, crime, education and the environment.

http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/progress/data-resources/documents/sdiyp2007_a6.pdf

Local environmental quality survey - DEFRA

The first part of a survey assessing the quality of the local environment across England has been published.

The survey gives detailed information on the performance of 174 local authority areas on the management of key street-level environmental problems including litter, fly tipping, fly-posting and graffiti.

The aim is to provide a picture for local residents on how their area is shaping up and to enable local authorities to target their resources more effectively. Results for the remaining 179 English local authority areas will be published next year. The local level survey builds on the existing national survey, which is carried out for Defra annually by ENCAMS.

http://www.direct.gov.uk

Public Attitudes and Behaviours toward the Environment: 2007 DEFRA Survey

The 2007 survey establishes a representative picture of what people in England think and how they behave across a range of issues relevant to the environment. The results for the 2007 survey were produced from data collected from a representative sample of approximately 3,600 individuals in England during spring 2007.

Topics include: recycling, attitudes and knowledge in relation to the environment, eco-friendly purchasing

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/pubatt/index.htm

Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme Planning Systems Guidance - DEFRA
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/localauth/funding/pfi/
pdf/wipd-systems-guidance.pdf

Third sector action plan
'Partnership in Public Services: an Action Plan for Third Sector Involvement'. The plan aims to remove barriers to third sector organisations wishing to become involved in delivering and designing public services. The report covers a range of areas from the National Offender Management Service to Jobcentre Plus. Part of the plan includes a national programme to train 2000 of those who commission public services on how to involve the third sector in services.
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/public_service_delivery/

Measuring Real Value: a DIY guide to Social Return on Investment
A new step-by-step guide to calculating social returns on investment produced by the New Economics Foundation. It is intended to allow sector organisations to demonstrate and quantify their wider social value when applying for grants and bidding for contracts.
SROI shows how social and environmental outcomes translate into tangible monetary value, helping organisations and investors of all kinds to see a fuller picture of the benefits that flow from their investment of time, money and other resources. This investment can then be seen in terms of the 'return' or the value created for individuals, communities, society or the environment. Link

The future role of the third sector in social and economic regeneration: final report
The final report of the joint Cabinet Office/Treasury review into the future role of the third sector in social and economic regeneration, it sets the framework for government working in partnership with the sector for the next 10 years, and responds directly to the largest ever public consultation Link

Alternate weekly collections revised guidance
WRAP have re-issued their guidance on alternate weekly collection schemes. Included within the revised guidance is a suggestion that to meet Landfill Directive requirements it will be necessary to deal with food waste. The best way to do this the guidance suggests is through a weekly collection of food waste and to process it either through composting or preferably through processes like Anaerobic Digestion. Link

Tender Readiness Toolkit - SCEDU

Sheffield community enterprise development unit (SCEDU) has released an updated version of their Tender Readiness Toolkit , it is aimed primarily at organisations considering their long term future and looking at procurement and contracting as an option .
http://www.scedu.org.uk/products.htm

House of Commons Refuse Collection Fifth Report
Covering refuse collection, dealing with waste, collection methods (specifically alternate weekly collections, recycling versus co-mingled), financial incentives & charging etc.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/
cmselect/cmcomloc/536/536i.pdf

Waste Shipment Regulations
New Waste Shipment Regulations came into force on 12 July 2007. These will make a number of changes to the controls on international waste movements to and from the UK. Under existing rules many types of low hazard or 'Green List' waste can be exported to many countries for recovery under minimal regulatory controls. Under the new rules stricter procedures must be followed.

Further guidance is available on the environment agency website
www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wasteshipments

Poverty indicator for Wales updated
An updated analysis of poverty and social exclusion in Wales published July 2007
http://www.poverty.org.uk/summary/reports.shtml#wales *

'Setting Up and Running Charity Shops - an Essential Guide' by John Tough
http://fp.charityshops.plus.com/JohnToughBook.html

Adding Value Beyond Funding
A report has been published to help the Big Lottery Fund and other grant makers to understand the nature, benefit, cost and outcome of adding value to grant programmes. The report, 'Investing in our programmes - maximising grant making', goes beyond standard good practice in grant making and investigates different rationales and methods of doing so, and provides practical recommendations.
www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

A Rough Guide to Individual Carbon Trading.
Defra published Centre for Sustainable Energy report on personal carbon allowances
http://www.cse.org.uk/pdf/news1270.pdf

A Better Way to Recycle: Co-operative and Community Approaches to Recycling 
Waste management is fast becoming a key political issue. Using case studies from across the world, Erik Bichard, CEO of the National Centre for Business and Sustainability, shows in this new report how problems can be turned to our advantage with a little innovation and a determination to invest in the future. Full report downloadable from:
www.cooperatives-uk.coop/live/welcome.asp?id=1047

Understanding Food waste - Research Summary prepared by Eunomia for WRAP
http://www.wrap.org.uk/downloads/FoodWasteResearchSummary .

Dealing with Food Waste in the UK prepared by Eunomia for WRAP
http://www.wrap.org.uk/downloads/Dealing_with_Food_Waste

Code of Practice for collection of WEEE from designated Collection Facilities
http://www.doeni.gov.uk/final_code_of_practice.pdf