And, the Party also reiterated its pledge to introduce a 70% domestic recycling target by 2020 at the unveiling of its manifesto in East London.
The waste policies included in the manifesto launch mirror the draft proposals seen by letsrecycle.com in March, with a continued emphasis on the 70% target, a 50% spending increase and a ban on food waste to landfill (see letsrecycle.com story).
On the £4 billion pledge, the manifesto reads: “Increase national spending on recycling and waste disposal by about 50%, an extra £4 billion a year, so that we can do away with damaging incineration and landfill.”
Asked how a 70% recycling rate would be achievable given concerns England may not reach its 50% target in five years, Green Party candidate Michael de Whalley last month said communities in Europe had achieved “a similar scale of improvement” in that timeframe.
In addition, the Greens have pledged a tax on ‘plastic bags and unnecessary packaging’ – which it estimates could “perhaps” raise £1 billion by 2020. It ties in with the Party’s commitment to reduce waste packaging across the supply chain.
GIB
Meanwhile, the Green Investment Bank (GIB) would receive ‘full borrowing powers’ under the Greens in order to help fund its £35 billion investment of public money in renewable energy generation.
There was more good news for anaerobic digestion operators in the manifesto, with a promise to continue funding the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. The £860 million initiative was set up in 2011 to incentivise investment in renewable gas-to-grid projects.
But, the manifesto painted a less optimistic picture for the future development of energy-from-waste infrastructure, despite promises made to close all coal-fired power stations in the UK by 2023 and to end reliance on nuclear power within the next 10 years.
Biomass development meanwhile would only be encouraged where it can be done in a ‘sustainable way’ and giving regard to the ‘human and environmental costs’.
Future development of EfW could be hindered by the Greens’ promise to introduce referendums on local government decisions if called for 20% of electors and a ‘community right of appeal’. The manifesto also proposed restricting the ability of the Secretary of State to “call in” planning applications.
In a further boost for localism, the Greens would allow councils freedom to set their own fees and charges – a policy that flies in the face of Secretary of State Eric Pickles’ decision to prevent local authorities charging residents to use household waste and recycling centres last month (see letsrecycle.com story).
‘Bold’
Speaking at the launch of the manifesto in East Dalston today, Ms Bennett said: “Our manifesto is an unashamedly bold plan to create a more equal, more democratic society while healing the planet from the effects of an unstable, unsustainable economy.
“This manifesto presents the Green Party’s genuine alternative to our tired, business-as-usual politics. We desperately need a more equal society and the policies we announce today pave the way towards a brighter, fairer future for all.”
Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas added: “We have put investing in a greener future at the heart of our manifesto and only Green MPs will demand Parliament delivers change that reflects the scale of the climate problem.”
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