Waste industry welcomes government boost for recycling
Environmental Services Association
New Resources and Waste Strategy could unlock £8 billion investment
Today, as the Government launches its new Resources and Waste Strategy, the Environmental Services Association (ESA), the voice for the UK’s resource and waste management industry has said that it was pleased that the new strategy will help householders across England do the right thing and boost UK recycling.
The strategy will force retailers and manufacturers to meet the costs of collecting and recycling their wastes, and will lead to products that are easier to recycle.
If implemented well, the new Government strategy could set a long-term framework that supports more investment and jobs in vital recycling and recovery services and infrastructure; meaning that more of the UK’s waste can be recycled and turned into products and energy here in the UK.
Work by the ESA, in the report, Resourceful: Delivering a strong and competitive UK resource economy, has also identified that improving the way resources are used, and waste is managed would boost the UK’s economy.
Following the launch of the Strategy, ESA’s Executive Director, Jacob Hayler, said: “It’s important to understand that policy decisions in this important area can make a real difference to the economy. We now have the opportunity to boost recycling and cut waste - creating over 50,000 jobs with £8 billion private sector investment in the process - but for this to happen the high-level ambition in the strategy will need to be turned into detailed actions that matter”
Overall the waste and resources industry welcomed the new Government strategy to reduce waste, boost recycling and put more responsibility on producers, packagers and retailers to make their products easier to recycle. Mr. Hayler added:
“As an industry we’ve been crying out for action to make things clearer and easier for householders and businesses, to boost recycled content and reduce unnecessary packaging.
The UK public wants to recycle more plastics and other materials, and our sector wants to invest in, and accelerate, the move to a lower carbon, more circular economy. This strategy sets out how that can happen for the benefit of the economy and the environment.”
Also included in the strategy is a clear focus and further powers and resources to crack down hard on waste crime. Illegal activity in the waste sector is a blight on the environment that costs the economy more than £1bn per year, undercutting legitimate business and causing misery for the people who live near the thousands of illegal waste activities and major fly tipping sites.
