– Mike Philpott, CIWM
Speaking at the CIWM's presidential dinner in Westminster, Mr Philpott described attending a conference in Holland in January where the UK was referred to as a country which still landfilled waste and was not moving forward.
Pointing to his own experiences during his presidential year, Mr Philpott described how being an assessor of Beacon councils “had shown me what a revolution this industry is going through. We have new technology such as the Cleanaway MRF in Greenwich. There are new players such as Global Resource working with Lancashire and there is new funding from Defra through WIP.”
The president emphasised the importance of the waste strategy consultation and reiterated the CIWM's support for energy from waste. Earlier in the day, the Institution had hosted a meeting of waste and recycling experts at which local environment minister Ben Bradshaw had been present.
The minister had restated his point that energy from waste (EfW) would be less than forecast in Waste Strategy 2000.
Mr Philpott said: “I do believe that energy-from-waste is an essential stage of policy, after reuse and minimisation.” He added that he did not believe that the process prejudices recycling.
And, referring to the “public's ignorance about energy-from-waste”, Mr Philpott said that “this must worry us all. We really need an energy-from-waste plant in Coronation Street.”
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Mixed reaction
The president's endorsement of a role for energy from waste in his speech received a mixed reaction from those at the dinner.
One CIWM member commented that Mr Philpott should have put EfW as one of the technologies available for waste treatment. Another member commented that the CIWM was taking too strong a stance in favour of EfW while another noted that it was important for CIWM to support EfW as a waste option.
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