A Government plan to hold a review of existing waste policy has been welcomed by waste management firms and environmental campaign groups as a way of bringing together and “accelerating” the existing “fragmented” waste policy in England.
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said the review would be carried out in order to stimulate a shift towards becoming a “zero waste society.”
Colin Drummond, Chief Executive of waste management firm Viridor said they looked forward to more details of the intended policy review and hoped it would result in a clear set of policies that give industry certainty and stability.
Chris Dow, Director of Closed Loop Recycling welcomed the review as a breath of fresh air and said, “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."
Support also came from Friends of the Earth (FoE), who outlined ambitious goals and targets they would like to see incorporated into a waste policy. FoE's Julian Kirby 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 the review should not be an excuse for councils to “dither” on improving reuse and recycling services and that, "Acting now will make better use of finite resources, slash carbon emissions, save cash, and create new jobs."
Nicola Peake, MD for May Gurney Environmental Services also welcomed the review and highlighted the increasing cost to taxpayers of sending waste to landfill. She said, "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."
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