The government department has enlisted the help of Sustain to lead a consortium of experts engaged in the field of waste management. Much of the work will centre on developing better in-house systems thinking and system dynamics modelling skills.
Specifically, these methods will be applied to the development of a waste prevention programme for England and in enhancing the evidence base of packaging waste recycling.
By taking a systems thinking approach, this should enable policy makers to deal with complexities by understanding and capturing dynamic interactions between policy, infrastructure, stakeholders, and material flows – and how these evolve over time.
The consortium’s work is part of the Government’s long term plans to work towards a zero waste economy.
According to Sustain’s head of product & supply chain Dr Jean-Yves Cherruault, those heading up the department realised it was important to have a deeper understanding of how various parts of the waste system interact with each other.
“Waste is a complex problem with a multitude of stakeholders, including consumers, local authorities, retailers and manufacturers,” he said, adding that there would be two principal outcomes of the project.
“Firstly, a group of policy makers, analysts and other experts within Defra will gain better knowledge of and hands-on experience in systems thinking and system dynamics modelling to support their work.
“Secondly, Defra staff will develop two different systems models – a qualitative system diagram of the system of product production and use, focusing on waste prevention through activities such as repair and reuse, and a quantitative dystem dynamics model of packaging waste recycling in different sectors and for different waste streams.”
The consortium comprises a number of advisory organisations alongside Sustain including modelling experts and software providers, Bristol University and waste management firm Veolia.
Maxine Perella