ESA sets out its priorities for new government

We hope the new government will help our sector to deliver much needed recycling and recovery infrastructure

 
Ian Goodfellow, chairman, ESA

And, the trade association, which represents over 200 firms and organisations in the waste management sector, has reiterated calls it made ahead of the election for “significant improvements” to the planning system to facilitate the introduction of “essential” waste management infrastructure (see letsrecycle.com story).

The comments come as part of list of priorities published by the Environmental Services Association (ESA) following the formation of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government earlier this week.

ESA chairman, Ian Goodfellow, said: “ESA looks forward to a productive relationship with the newly appointment officials. We hope the new government will help our sector to deliver much needed recycling and recovery infrastructure, in particular by removing some of the current blockages in the planning system.”

Landfill

In Budget 2010, former chancellor Alastair Darling pledged to put an £80 floor under landfill tax after 2014/15 in a move which was strongly welcomed by the waste sector for making waste projects more bankable in the long term (see letsrecycle.com story).

This followed an earlier commitment by the Conservatives to put a floor under the standard rate of landfill tax from 2012 until 2020 to encourage alternative forms of waste disposal, which the party still stands by.

However, since the formation of the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government, there has been no clarity over exactly what will happen to the tax now.

Consequently, the ESA called for these policies to be upheld. It said: “ESA urges the new government to maintain a floor under landfill tax rates to act as a long term driver to encourage investment in alternative infrastructure.”

Elsewhere on the ESA's wishlist, the organisation called for:

• clear incentives to maximise recovery of materials and energy from the UK's waste stream, including encouraging use of domestic end markets, accelerating development of End-of-Waste Protocols and giving sufficient lead-in times for landfill bans;
• recognition of the “strong” potential role of energy-from-waste in meeting the UK's energy needs;
• a precise legal framework which provides clear incentives;

• improving the procurement process;
• ensuring local authorities properly consider the management of health and safety;
• and, the ESA urged the government to implement the Waste Framework Directive in a “timely and transparent way”.