ESA chairs warning over Defra inactivity on waste

Addressing delegates at the waste sector trade bodys annual lunch this afternoon (November 29), the SITA UK chief executive said that the government had an important role to play in helping the waste industry in its transition from being a disposer of waste to becoming a provider of resources.

Alluding to the letter from newly appointed Defra minister Dan Rogerson this month, in which he stated that the government will reduce its work around waste, Mr Palmer-Jones said that the industry needs strong vision and leadership from government to continue to develop.

He said: Business and local authorities can only do so much on their own. But without the active involvement of government, the market signals are simply not strong or visible enough for the average company or householder to spontaneously change the way they regard waste.

And therefore I genuinely fear the loss of the immense benefits in terms of growth and jobs that our sector can bring to the UK economy if our government steps away from us now.

Meanwhile, Mr Palmer-Jones also outlined the ESAs wish list for 2014, which includes five areas of work that the organisation feels are essential for government to continue to focus its resources.

Landfill tax

Among these are calls for Her Majestys Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to resolve confusion over the application of the lower rate of landfill tax, following debate over which materials should be subject to the standard level of landfill tax set at 72 per tonne or the lower rate of landfill tax which is 2.50 per tonne.

He said: We ask government to do the right thing by closing off avenues for misclassification and fraudulent behaviour that is costing the exchequer literally hundreds of millions of pounds a year in lost revenue and is seriously undermining investment in alternative processing facilities. We can only hope that the Chancellors autumn statement next week gives the clarity we need.

ESA has also called for the government to toughen its stance on waste crime, which Mr Palmer-Jones said continues to undermine the viability of legitimate businesses in the sector, and to explore ways to de-risk the market for recyclates, through measures such as hedging.