The comments from waste management firms Closed Loop Recycling and Viridor, as well as campaign group Friends of the Earth, come after Mrs Spelman announced earlier this week (June 15) that the government would undertake a review of existing policy in order to shift towards becoming a ‘zero waste society' (see letsrecycle.com story).
We hope that the eventual outcome of the review will be a clear set of policies that give certainty and stability to the industry
Colin Drummond, chief executive, Viridor
Speaking at the Futuresource exhibition and conference in London's Docklands, Mrs Spelman said the review would be carried out by Defra alongside the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Communities and Local Government and local authorities.
Her plans was hailed by leading figures in the sector as a way of bringing together and “accelerating” the existing “fragmented” waste policy in England.
Colin Drummond, chief executive of waste management firm Viridor, said: “Viridor welcomes the government's intention to accelerate progress in the areas of recycling, energy from waste and resource efficiency, and looks forward to more details on the terms of the intended policy review.
“We hope that the eventual outcome of the review will be a clear set of policies that give certainty and stability to the industry and which fully take into account the science behind individual technologies. If a consultation forms part of the review, Viridor will actively take part.”
However, Mr Drummond did stress that the waste review “must avoid causing further delays” in the planning process and said that the Taunton-based firm currently has £600 million of infrastructure currently tied up in the planning system.
He said: “Our main obstacle to investment remains an unresponsive and inadequate planning system and we look forward to decisive progress and solutions in this key area.”
Closed Loop
Similar support for the planned review was given by Chris Dow, managing director of London-based Closed Loop Recycling. Mr Dow, who recently called on the coalition government to curb the plastics sector's dependence on the export market (see letsrecycle.com story), said that the review could lead to generate a domestic closed loop for packaging material.
He said: “The new environment secretary's announcement about a review of UK waste strategy is a breath of fresh air and much welcomed. I have long stated that the current waste set up in the UK is too fragmented and lacking a solid direction and sound regulatory framework, which means that a valuable resource is, quite literally, going to waste.”
Mr Dow called for a “joined-up approach” to waste management in the country and said that the use of carbon metric for targets – as opposed to the current weight-based system – could have the “most environmentally beneficial outcomes”.
Furthermore, Mr Dow suggested that there was a need in the waste review to put an emphasis on developing “the right infrastructure” and establishing end markets for materials, which he claimed could be created by offering incentives to brands and retailers to create more sustainable packaging in the first place.
Friends of the Earth
Support for the planned review also came from environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth, who outlined ambitious goals and targets they would like to see incorporated into waste policy by the environment secretary.
Outlining the body's wish-list, Julian Kirby, Friends of the Earth's resource use campaigner, said: “The environment secretary must scrap incineration subsidies introduced by Labour and invest instead in waste prevention, anaerobic digestion and increased recycling – including a 75% recycling target for England and stronger packaging laws.”
Mr Kirby stated that the review should not be an excuse for councils to “dither on improving reuse and recycling services” and said that: “Acting now will make better use of finite resources, slash carbon emissions, save cash, and create new jobs.”
May Gurney
Further comment came from Nicola Peake, managing director for May Gurney Environmental Services, whole welcomed the review, and highlighted the increasing cost to taxpayers of sending waste to landfill.
“Increasing the amount of waste that is recycled is the best way to reduce this cost and enable local authorities to boost revenues through mining the waste stream. It also helps cut household carbon footprints and boost recycling rates in England, which are still among the lowest in Europe,” she said.
“While we agree that pay to throw incentivisation schemes should be examined as part of the review, our own experience is that well developed, reliable and well communicated kerb-side recycling schemes boost recycling rates anyway, and further financial incentives to encourage householders to recycle are rarely necessary,” she added.
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