The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) believes the move will not be beneficial in assessing and analysing recycling trends.

The elimination of regional quarterly reports, mentioned for the first time in Defra’s Q3 local authority waste results, released last week, will take effect from the February 2014 publication which is set to cover the period from April – June 2013.

Defra will, however, continue to produce quarterly reports for England. It also said that from August 2014, the annual reports will be written to represent the calendar rather than the financial year.

CIWM chief executive Steve Lee said: “We currently have a gap of between seven and nine months from the dates represented in the reports to the publication of the reports themselves.

“If the suggested move from quarterly to annual reports occurs, then we could potentially be getting the figures up to a year and a half after they actually occur. Clearly, that is not a preferable situation.

“Representing the statistics in the calendar rather than financial year has merits, and for many this will make the information easier to digest and understand. However, councils will still be working to financial years in their budgets.”

Maxine Perella

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