Winning 364 seats, the party now has a commons majority of 78, and all eyes in the waste and recycling sector will now be looking to see how the Environment Bill and other legislation is implemented.
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More on this story: Villiers remains but defeats for Goldsmith and Creagh
Shadow waste and recycling minister loses seat
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16:20 Ellin hopes for stablility
Following the pattern of certainty, the CEO of the Recycling Association Simon Ellin said: “I hope the results last night will bring the stability and certainty needed to move forward with the ambitious Resources and Waste Strategy.
“However Brexit may look, and whatever your views are on it, if we can move forward and clear up uncertainty then this can only be good for our sector.”
14:58 Parliamentry term ‘crticial’ says Aldersgate Group
Following the success of the Conservative Party, the Aldersgate Group urges the new Government to press ahead with a meaningful and ambitious climate and environmental agenda.
Nick Molho, executive director of the Aldersgate Group, said: “The Government’s policy decisions in this parliamentary term will be absolutely critical. They will determine whether the UK is genuinely on track for achieving its net zero target and reversing the decline of the natural environment within a generation.”
14:10 LARAC to continue Defra engagement
Lee Marshall, CEO of LARAC, said: “For our industry the outcome of the election should mean we continue on the path set out when the Resource and Waste Strategy was launched a year ago.
We would expect the next round of consultations on consistency, DRS and EPR to come out in 2020. LARACs focus will be to continue our engagement with DEFRA on these vital issues and work hard on our members behalf to ensure these critical changes in waste policy work for local authorities.”
12:53 Viridor looks to waste strategy
Phil Piddington, MD of Viridor,said the company welcomed the opportunity to continue to work with the Conservative Government to implement the Resources & Waste Strategy – a strategy which ‘has the power to unlock £10bn of sector investment’ in UK recycling infrastructure over the next 10 years.
He said: “It is crucial for the UK to continue the momentum which has already been achieved with this strategy if it is to translate its circular economy ambitions into action. Viridor has already committed to investing £65m in the UK’s largest multi-plastics reprocessing plant at Avonmouth, near Bristol.
“A £252m combined heat and power plant, which harnesses the power of non-recyclable waste, will be co-located at Avonmouth to power this recycling process for the South West, driving the use of recycled plastic over virgin material. We have ambitions to invest more in recycling infrastructure, and effective implementation of the strategy will be key to making this happen.”
12:29 Palmer-Jones to support new government with legislation
David Palmer-Jones, CEO of SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, said: “We look forward to working with the new Government to push ahead once more with the raft of once-in-a lifetime environmental legislation.
“We stand willing to continue to support the development of an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme that fulfils the polluter pays principle and that will in turn allow for the vital shift to greater consistency in waste and recycling collections, clearer labelling of goods for recycling and deposit return schemes for plastic bottles and cans.
“This clear working Parliamentary majority allows us to continue on our transformational journey to convert the 60 million tonnes of waste in the system today into 60 million tonnes of resources, benefitting both our fragile environment and UK industrial performance.”
12:04 ESA hoping for sector continuity
Executive director of the Environmental Services Association (ESA) Jacob Hayler said: “This landslide election result hopefully signals continuity, for the resources and waste sector, along the path set out by the previous Conservative government, which promised to radically change the way we view and deal with waste in this country. Continuation of this journey, which is now at least two years down the road, will therefore undoubtedly be welcomed by many in our sector.
“We would like to see the new Conservative government quickly rekindle the legislative programme introduced under the Environment Bill in the autumn, so that progress can be made against the Resources and Waste Strategy, and we can make up for lost time.
“We will wait to find out who will oversee this process as Secretary of State at Defra – noting that the incumbent Defra leadership team of Theresa Villiers and Rebecca Pow both retained their seats in Parliament – but we look forward to working with whoever is selected in due course.”
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