Tackling waste crime will be among the priorities for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) during 2013, recycling minister Lord de Mauley has revealed.
Speaking to waste industry delegates at an event organised by the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group (APSRG) in the House of Commons yesterday (January 22), the minister commented that waste offences would not be tolerated.
However, he added that Defra would also work to ensure that regulation does not provide uncertainty to investors by creating an uneven playing field.
He said: Proportionate regulation is vital to protect the environment and there must be a level playing field for investors to have confidence. Waste operators who are flouting the law will not be tolerated.
The Environment Agency is dealing with issues including illegal waste exports and incidents where waste is dumped illegally. Defra is working to ensure that that the level of fines for acts of illegal dumping do act as a deterrent.”
In a speech in which he outlined the Departments priorities for 2013, the minister said that Defras waste strategy had three areas of focus: economic growth, improving the environment and providing a good service to the public.
Growth
On economic growth, the minister said that the waste sector has huge potential to contribute to the UKs economic recovery, by helping to secure vital raw materials for manufacturers.
He said: The resources sector has huge potential to contribute to the economic growth while helping the environment. By using resources more efficiently we can ensure that materials are reused, remanufactured or recycled, and at the same time, we can improve the resilience of our manufacturing sector.
Lord de Mauley praised the work of Dagenham-based plastic bottle recycler Closed Loop Recycling which he said was a key contributor to employment and growth, as well as reprocessing around 10% of all the bottles recycled in the UK.
He also pointed to the Green Investment Bank as a key driver for growth in the sector, adding that waste projects are among the priority areas for investment, and he highlighted the GIBs commitment to provide 8 million of funding to help construct a 5.1 megawatt anaerobic digestion facility in Teesside as an example of this (see letsrecycle.com story).
The minister also urged the waste industry to contribute to Defras forthcoming call for evidence on a waste prevention plan, due to be issued in the coming weeks, and commended the work of the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) alongside the hospitality sector to reduce food waste, which he said would help to improve the environment.
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He added: The Secretary of State [Owen Paterson] said he doesnt simply want to protect the environment, he wants us to improve it, and a good example of this is in waste prevention. Resource efficiency measures could save businesses millions of pounds, to help realise this we are developing the waste prevention programme to be published at the end of the year, a call for evidence will be issued in the coming weeks.
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