Suez pushes government to meet UK waste targets

Suez has said that it believes that delays to key policy reforms because of government’s lack of clarity to date have stalled progress in the sector. 

It added that it believes the waste service industry will be at the heart of tackling the climate crisis and that it underpins green transitions across a number of industries.  

Suez is calling on the government to push forward with waste reforms and establish a clear policy pathway – which the previous administration “failed to deliver on”.  

The key asks outlined, as quoted in the letter, are:  

1. Provide clarity and simplicity in policy. The provision of clear timelines and targets for government waste reforms will be crucial for effective and timely decision-making by local authorities and service providers so they can execute their plans over the next five years. For example, the implementation plan for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requires urgent clarification.  

1. Effective funding and support. It is essential for the implementation of any new policies so that existing and new infrastructure can be updated or deployed to manage our volumes of waste and invest in innovative recycling methods. Confirmed funding support from government for waste management, including via EPR, will be key to ensuring quality local services can continue to be delivered consistently across the UK.  

1. Drive behaviour change. We need a national campaign and consistent communications to promote greater consumer and business understanding of the circular economy and improve consumer participation in local recycling schemes. Building understanding of better consumption and busting myths about the sector will be essential to boost behaviour change. 

Dr Adam Read MBE, chief sustainability and external affairs officer at Suez, said: “We are at critical juncture in the development of a more sustainable, resource efficient economy.  

“For too long, policymaking has been subject to competing demands and asks from different departments, and we urgently need a joined-up approach right across government.  

“Our industry, alongside our local authority partners and customers, are keen to play our part supporting the development of policies; the delivery of communications campaigns; and the crowding-in of capital that will be crucial in transforming the UK’s management of waste towards a more sustainable and effective future.” 

Read the full open letter here.

Find out more at letsrecycle.com’s EPR conference on 14 November.