The LGA has warned that tougher rules on disposing of items that contain persistent organic pollutants (POPs) could be expensive and difficult for councils.
POPs are poisonous chemical substances that break down slowly and can be harmful to the environment and human health if they enter the food chain. For example, some chemicals used as fire retardants in soft furnishings have been identified as harmful.
From August, the Environment Agency will require councils to treat all soft furnishings as if they contain POPs, and to separate them from other types of waste.
The LGA has warned that council operations “are not designed to cope with this level of complexity, and household waste and recycling facilities, for example, could need significant upgrades”, in response to a consultation by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs on changes to the POPs regulations. It added: “Commercial contractors, and the community and voluntary sector, may struggle to find suitable disposable routes and so it may be left to councils, as the service of ‘last resort’, to dispose of householders’ POPs material, adding challenge and costs to services.”
The LGA is keen to explore a ‘producer responsibility’ scheme for furniture and textiles, in which the ‘polluter pays’ principle is followed through to waste disposal.
“It would be helpful to consider the combined impact of the proposals – for example, textiles could contain more than one of the POPs listed in this consultation. This needs to be explored in more detail.”
Regulators should also look at whether POPs were needed at all in the manufacture of products and whether natural materials could be used instead.