Time is running out for government over waste

In the 2003 State of the Nation report, launched today, the ICE said that more decisions are needed from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to encourage private investment in the waste sector.

The report said: “This sector is suffering from the national trend of waiting until the last minute before taking action – the biggest waste at the moment is the waste of precious time.”

More decisive leadership is needed at local and national level, the report said, with clear signals provided regarding where the funding will come from for the infrastructure required to meet European waste targets.

The ICE also called for a more streamlined, regionally-focussed planning system to reduce barriers to new infrastructure and a change in the current two-tier local waste authority system in England, stating that unitary authorities have been more successful in implementing integrated waste management projects.

Speaking to letsrecycle.com following the launch, Peter Gerstrom, a member of the ICE's waste management board, explained: “The government is very glib about infrastructure. The question is, can we provide the infrastructure required in the timescales given? Who is going to fund what is needed? How will we get it through planning? We need someone with a voice that says here are solutions.”

Mr Gerstrom, who works as director of municipal waste services at Cleanaway and has also worked for Onyx, Hampshire Waste Services and SELCHP, criticised the government for splitting its responsibilities on waste through different Departments. He added that further delays would now be caused while DEFRA, the “key to the industry”, undergoes wide-reaching changes including “getting rid of a minister who was fully up to speed on the issues” in the form of Michael Meacher.

Definition
As well as re-iterating the changes needed in the planning system, Mr Gerstrom stressed the importance of producing a solid definition of waste to provide certainty for investors, for example with regard to the “confusion” over the Animal By-Products Order.

“Waste facilities are solutions for 20 years,” he said. “As an investor, you need to know that the product from a system is going to be able to be placed in a market. If there is uncertainty, you're not going to want to invest.

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