Speaking to letsrecycle.com, the Environmental Services Association (ESA), the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) praised the move, which will see the Landfill Tax escalator extended further to 2014, where it will rise to £80 per tonnes and then not drop below this rate (see letsrecycle.com story).
Dirk Hazell, chief executive of the ESA, said: “The ESA welcomes the floor price set under the Landfill Tax announced by the Chancellor. An inflation-adjusted real floor would have been preferable but this announcement does at least help to provide some certainty to investors in our sector by removing an aspect of regulatory risk.”
In addition, Joy Blizzard, chair of LARAC, welcomed the plans and praised the impact that the tax has had on driving the sector towards developing infrastructure and improving waste minimisation efforts.
She said: “In the past Landfill Tax has played a huge role in shifting us all from cheap landfill to recycling and waste minimisation efforts. And, again, I think it also helps us going forward, as I think we will see a greater focus on waste minimisation efforts.”
Lobbying group and trade association, the Confederation of British Industries (CBI), also welcomed the landfill tax proposal.
Richard Lambert, director-general of the CBI, said: “We are pleased that proposed changes to the Landfill Tax have not gone ahead. This would have cost business £1billion over the next five years with no additional environmental benefit.”
Certainty
Chancellor Alistair Darling claimed yesterday extending the Landfill Tax escalator would provide “certainty for business investment”, after both LARAC and the ESA last year claimed that there was not enough certainty in this respect (see letsrecycle.com story).
And, while it welcomed the greater clarity of the future of Landfill Tax, the CIWM claimed that the Chancellor's plans still did not go far enough.
Steve Lee, chief executive of the CIWM, said: “We welcome the extension of the landfill tax escalator to 2014 and the confirmation by the Chancellor of the £80 floor after that point.
“However, it falls short of the longer term plan for the tax that the industry has been calling for and may not be enough to provide the investment certainty that we need.”
Both the Conservative Party and trade association, the Environmental Industries Commission, have previously advocated putting a floor until the tax until 2020 in order to ensure longer term certainty for the sector (see letsrecycle.com story).
“Open door”
Despite widespread support for the Budget proposals, the LGA – which represents more than 400 councils in England – claimed there was a feeling that councils were performing adequately without a need to further ramp up costs.
Clive Harris, waste policy advisor at the LGA, said: “It is all going to cost more which is going to increase the onus on local authorities and they are doing a good job on waste and recycling as it is, and they are on track to meet the first set of European targets. It seems to be all going well so far, so perhaps, in a way, it is pushing at an open door.”
Mr Harris said that the LGA would be making a more comprehensive response to the Budget next week.
Green Investment
Elsewhere, the Chancellor's proposal to develop a £2 billion Green Investment Bank to drive the development of low-carbon infrastructure was met with support but concerns were raised as to how the government intends to raise the necessary capital.
Further to his comments on the Landfill Tax escalator, Dirk Hazell of the ESA, said the trade association would wait to see what impact the proposals are set to have for the waste sector and whether the funding would be achieved.
He said: “We first need to know whether the government is able to realise the whole of the £2 billion envisaged in the budget, half of which is expected to come from the private sector, and also what the investment criteria will be in practice. Hopefully the forthcoming consultation will provide us with some of the answers.”
The Aldersgate Group – a coalition of environmentally-minded businesses – welcomed the proposal for the Green Investment Bank and claimed it would be important in providing future job needs.
Peter Young, chairman of the Aldersgate Group, said: “The initial £2 billion of equity is a good start but must be rapidly scaled up over the next Parliament. The total low carbon investment needed by 2020 is at least £250 billion, leading to more secure jobs and a more prosperous future.”
Also commenting on the government plans, Chris Dow, managing director of London-based plastics recycling firm Closed Loop Recycling offered support for government proposals to drive investment in both the waste and energy sectors.
“Whilst it doesn't offer a total financial solution, it's a strong initiative in difficult times which will hopefully stimulate interest in the industry and start to attract the many billions of pounds of investment required,” he said.
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