Minister tells businesses to take lead on waste

The private sector will need to lead the way on waste and recycling due to limited government funding, new Defra waste and recycling minister Dan Rogerson has said.

It follows a letter sent out on behalf of the Liberal Democrat MP this week (November 6) to members of the waste and recycling industry, in which he revealed that there would be a reduction of activities in the sector for 2014/15, due to limited government funding (see letsrecycle.com story).

In one of his first public engagements in the waste role, Mr Rogerson confirmed that from next Spring, Defra would be withdrawing from some of the areas in which we do proactive policy work, such as energy-from-waste (EfW), commercial and industrial (C&I) waste and construction and demolition waste.

He commented: Its not that I dont think that they [these areas] are important, but there are others, such as businesses, that are already doing a lot of work in that area, and we think that they are best placed to carry that work forward.

Mr Rogerson said that as the recovery rate in construction and demolition was 93% in 2011, it was therefore not an area where the government has to step in.

The comments came at the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP)s annual conference in London yesterday (November 7), at which the Programme launched its Circular Economy 2020 Vision for the EU. It said more efficient resource use could see EU economic growth of 330 billion.

Mr Rogerson continued: The approach I want is for business to lead the way with government ensuring the right frameworks are in place. I have confidence in the capability of British business to really drive forward the development of the circular economy.

We need to be realistic over what is achievable over what time period and how challenging it is going to be. But real opportunities do exist for businesses and others to prevent waste, save money and to grow and all this means improving our environment and our economy.”

MRF code

Elsewhere, Mr Rogerson paid tribute to the work of his predecessor in the waste brief, Lord de Mauley, on materials recycling facility (MRF) code of practice regulations, which he described as a hugely important area of work that he hoped to continue.

Highlighting the governments consultation on the MRF code of practice earlier this year (see letsrecycle.com story), he said the regulations would drive up quality and increase both public and private confidence in recyclable materials.

Mr Rogerson said: We are the only ones who can regulate but we dont want to do it without of course making sure that everyone is involved in that process.

We have had a very useful consultation [on MRF regulations] and are continuing to work on the detail. I want the regulations to come into force as soon as possible ideally by early next year.

WRAP funding

Elsewhere, the Lib Dem MP was keen to praise the work of WRAP, despite Defra cuts to the organisations funding that were announced in May (see letsrecycle.com story).

He commented: We are pleased that we will continue to fund WRAP, but we cant keep funding it at the same level. In fact we are reducing its funding level to 60% of current levels. This is less, but it is still a significant sum.

He added that WRAP would now prioritise reducing food waste, improving sustainability of textiles and electrical products and supporting local authorities, which he said was still a huge agenda.