The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has met with the country's new environment minister, Edwin Poots, to brief him on work that it claims needs to be done in waste management.
On 1 July, the first day in his new role, Mr Poots, who previously held the position of culture secretary, said he looked to cover "the spectrum of significant issues" covered by his role as environment minister and claimed there was "much work to be done" in the field of waste management. The minister explained that this would also involve assessing the role that could be played by energy-from-waste in the country's long term waste management strategy.
Speaking after the briefing, Mr Poots said, "We face heavy financial penalties in the future if we do not hit these targets so it is incumbent on me to ensure that everything practicable is done to deliver a robust waste management strategy."
Mr Poots replaces the much maligned climate change sceptic Sammy Wilson, who had held the post from June 2008 and has now become minister of finance and personnel. In addition to meeting with the NIEA, Mr Poots also met with the Planning Service, the Planning and Environmental Policy Group, Local Government Policy Division, the Driver and Vehicle Agency and the Road Safety Division.
