This document summarizes the Welsh Government's strategic approach to delivering a circular economy in Wales. It outlines key threats like rising costs and resource insecurity, as well as opportunities like job creation and reduced emissions. The strategy aims to reduce waste and increase reuse/recycling to save business costs, secure secondary resources, and create jobs. Milestones include a 70% recycling rate by 2025 and achieving near zero waste and one planet resource use by 2050. Actions include waste prevention programs, recycling targets, funding authorities, banning recyclables from incineration/landfill, and working collaboratively across sectors to transition Wales to a circular economy.

1. www.cymru.gov.uk
Dr Andy Rees
Head of Waste Strategy
Waste & Resource Efficiency Division,
Department for Environment and Sustainable
Development
Welsh Government
Committee on Climate Change meeting
Cardiff 17 April
Norwegian Church Arts Centre
Delivering the circular economy in
Wales – the Welsh Government’s
strategic approach

2. Key threats
• Economy
– Waste is a cost to business / raw material prices are rising
– There is only one planet’s worth of resources, yet we use three’s worth - resource security /
critical materials
• Social
– Loss of jobs if manufacturing companies can’t secure an affordable, reliable supply of raw
materials
– Increasing food and material poverty if household food and everyday items become too
expensive
• Environmental
– Increased raw material mining in Wales and associated environmental impact
– Rising global GHG levels because of the impact of our high consumption levels
– Continued destruction globally of wildlife species because of habitat loss caused by our high
consumption levels
Key opportunities
• To save costs to business through reducing waste, increasing reuse & recycling, and
reducing landfill
• Securing cheaper secondary resources / critical materials from reuse and recyclate,
‘mined’ from Welsh/UK recyclate
• New jobs in reuse and recycling
• Increased resilience for Welsh manufacturing businesses – jobs protected
• Food redistribution supports those in food poverty
• Full devolved ability to significantly reduce direct and indirect GHG emissions
• Wales using only its fair share of the world’s resources (one planet)
• Contribute to renewable energy (from AD)
A reminder: Why do we need a circular economy?

3. Climate Change: The impact of our
consumption on CO2 emissions
Source: Defra, March 2015

4. Ambition from the Welsh Government
• Programme for Government
priorities:
– Jobs – including green growth
– Tackling poverty
– Resilience
• Sustainable Development
(“One Wales, One Planet”)
• Climate Change Strategy
• Well-being of Future
Generations Bill
• Towards Zero Waste

5. Transition to a circular economy
Example:
Leasing of
photocopiers
- Xerox
Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

6. Ambition: Wales waste strategy -
Towards Zero Waste: key milestones to
the goal of one planet resource use
2025: Towards Zero
Waste
Significant waste reduction
(including reuse) (27%
reduction)
Recycling rate of at least 70%
AD food waste priority
‘Closed loop recycling’ systems
(high quality, separate
collection)
Residual waste to high
efficiency EfW
As close to zero landfill as
possible
2050: Achieving Zero
Waste
Reduce our share of Wales’
ecological footprint to ‘one
Wales: one planet’ levels by
2050 (65% reduction of
waste)
Produce no residual waste
through SCP - any waste
that is produced is re-used/
recycled (at 100%).
Waste prevention and 70% recycling
targets
Waste Prevention, SCP, 100% recycling
2010
2025
2050

7. Climate Change Strategy for Wales:
Chapter 12 Resource efficiency and
waste emission reduction

8. Wales planned emissions reductions
Direct emissions
• Actions in diverting biodegradable waste from landfill to recycling, composting
and anaerobic digestions are estimated to deliver savings of 660,000 tonnes
of CO2e by 2020 in terms of direct emissions
Indirect emissions:
• Commercial waste: 70% recycling by 2025 will yield a saving of 440,000 CO2e
• Industrial waste: 70% recycling by 2025 will yield a saving of 190,000 CO2e
• Municipal waste: 70% recycling by 2025 will yield a saving of 432,000 CO2e

9. • Waste prevention:
– Wales Waste Prevention Programme in place
– Targets set
– Delivery agents funded
– Voluntary agreements for major products / sectors in place
– Reuse Alliance supported
– Public sector sustainable procurement
– Influence behaviour – at point of purchase and at home
– Eco Design / new business models
– Advice & support (Resource Efficiency Wales)
• Recycling:
– Setting local authorities statutory recycling targets under the Waste
(Wales) Measure 2010
– Provided c£600+ million in annual ring fenced funding to our local
authorities since 2002
– Municipal food waste treatment (AD) procurement programme
– Set up and funded the Collaborative Change Programme
– Setting an aspirational 70% recycling target by 2025 for the other key
waste streams.
– Environment Bill provisions to increase the recycling of business and
public sector waste
– Published the Collections Blueprint for local authorities –
recommending that they follow a kerbside sort approach
Strategic actions to achieve a circular economy for Wales

10. • Proposed in our Environment Bill White
Paper to introduce the following legal
requirements:
– A requirement on all businesses and public
sector bodies to keep seven key recyclable
materials separate at source (including food)
– An additional requirement for food, cardboard
and wood to be collected separately
– A ban on recyclables wastes to EfW
– A ban on recyclable wastes to Landfill
– A ban on the disposal of food waste to sewer
Environment Bill

11. Progress so far in Wales – meeting
targets
• Recycling (70% target for 2025)
– Municipal waste: 54.3% recycling in 2013/14
– Commercial waste: 68% recycling in 2012 (37% in
2007)
– Industrial waste: 50% recycling in 2012 (59% in
2007)
– Construction and demolition waste (90% target for
2025): The preparation for re-use, recycling and other
material recovery rate was 87% in 2012
• Waste prevention (27% reduction by 2025)
– Household waste: 14% reduction from 2006/7 to
2012/13
– Commercial waste: 1% reduction from 2007 to 2012
– Industrial waste: 5.5% increase from 2007 to 2012

14. Progress on reducing direct carbon emissions in the waste
sector

15. Achieving the vision - in conclusion
To achieve a circular economy, reduce our
consumption carbon footprint and meet our well-
being goals, Wales, and its people need:
• A far bigger focus on the inner CE circles – eco-design, longer
life, more reuse etc
• A resource management industry leading the drive towards a
circular economy for Wales, and providing maximum social
benefit
• With a consistent, high quality, source separated approach to
recyclate collection (Collections Blueprint)
• With manufacturing businesses becoming more resource
efficient
• And retailers playing their part to improve sustainable
consumption
• With everyone working strategically and collaboratively to
achieve the collective good for Wales, its businesses and its
people
• And with effective working with industrial, commercial, public
sector and public audiences to achieve a circular economy in
Wales, or as close to it as we can feasibly get!

16. www.cymru.gov.uk