RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY SETS OUT ITS TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT GOVERNMENT

The Trade Association Group, an umbrella body comprising the main organisations in the UK’s waste and resource management sector, today set out its top priorities for the next government.

The Group’s statement reads as follows:

“We believe that improvements in resource efficiency – the way in which materials, energy, and water are used in the UK economy – should be a central theme in the next government’s industrial and environmental policies and strategies.

“To this end, the incoming government should:

• Set out a long term policy framework for waste and resource management, building on the foundations previously laid by European Union waste and resource legislation, so that the industry has the confidence to invest in the infrastructure urgently needed to maximize the recovery of valuable materials, energy and nutrients from waste.
• Take urgent action to reverse the decline in recycling rates. More needs to be done to prevent food waste, to increase separate collections of food waste from homes and businesses when it can’t be prevented, and to increase the demand for secondary raw materials.
• Tackle the escalating levels of waste crime, which costs the UK economy over ￡600 million a year, blights local communities and the environment, and undermines legitimate businesses. The latest ESA-led report on this subject, “Rethinking Waste Crime”, contains a number of important recommendations on how to tackle the problem, in particular by making it harder for criminals to enter the industry. These measures need to be implemented as a matter of urgency.

“We look forward to working with new Ministers on these pressing priorities.”

In line with this call to action, it is worth noting that The Bio Based Innovations Expo (5th June 2017) focuses on how governments can collaborate with business not only to reduce organic waste, but to valorise these resources by creating competitive products - let me know if you are interested in joining the movement at this crucial time.