Wales launches sector plan for food and retail waste

The Welsh Assembly Government has today (March 22) set out how it intends to boost waste prevention efforts across the food, retail and services industries under its sector plans initiative.

The draft Food Manufacture, Service and Retail sector plan was launched for consultation today, and is the third of six sector plans being developed by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG).

The sector plans are intended to outline how specific industries can help the Government achieve its long term ambitions on waste and recycling under its Towards Zero Waste strategy, which was published in June 201 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Within the draft Food Manufacture, Service and Retail sector plan, the WAG sets out its intention to encourage waste prevention efforts, particularly in packaging and the design stage.

Furthermore, the sector plan outlines a WAG intention to promote separate collection of food waste and packaging waste from businesses, with a keen focus on diverting all food waste to anaerobic digestion for energy generation.

The WAG also hopes to foster a greater support network for collections and disposal of waste collected from small and medium-sized businesses.

Launching the consultation on the draft document, environment minister Jane Davidson said: Wales ambition is to recycle 70% of its waste by 2025 and be zero waste by 2050. If we are to achieve this we all need to play our part.

The Food Manufacture, Service and Retail plan sets out proposals for how these sectors can reduce the amount of waste they produce and manage any waste which they do create as sustainable a way as possible.

The WAG said food manufacturing, service and retail sectors produce 40% of Wales commercial and industrial waste.

To date, the WAG has published its Municipal Sector Plan in full earlier this month and, on the same day, launched its Collections, Infrastructure and Markets Sector Plan in draft form (see letsrecycle.com story).

Consultation on the Food Manufacture, Service and Retail sector plan is open until June 22 2011.

InSource

Environment minister Jane Davidson launched the consultation on the sector plan while on a visit to the countys first commercial anaerobic digestion facility.

Mrs Davidson visited the 10,000 tonne-a-year capacity plant at Premier Foods RF Brooks factory at Rogerstone, near Newport. The facility is currently at commissioning stage and is expected to be operational by the summer.

The plant, which cost 5 million to construct and is operated by waste management and energy generation specialist InSource Energy, received 500,000 in government funding in April 2009 to develop (see letsrecycle.com story).

Phil Coles, managing director of InSource, said: If we had done nothing [rather than developing an AD] then we would have seen 45,000 increase in costs each year. We know that our zero waste to landfill target is achievable.”