A week ahead of the General Election, the waste management sector’s ‘Trade Association Group’, has issued a call for the next government to set out a long-term policy for waste and resource management.

Seven organisations make up the Trade Association Group for the waste management and resource sector

The grouping says that the framework should build 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 maximise the recovery of valuable materials, energy and nutrients from waste.”
And, it says that it looks forward to working with new ministers on the topic.

Seven organisations make up the grouping which includes the Environmental Services Association and the Resource Association. In a statement, they said: “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.”

As well as the policy framework, the grouping also wants “urgent action to reverse the decline in recycling rates”. They suggest that more needs to be done to prevent food waste and to increase separate collections of food waste from homes and businesses.

Waste crime

And, action to tackle the escalating levels of waste crime is also demanded. The grouping says waste crime “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”, is highlighted. The report contains a number of important recommendations on how to tackle the problem, in particular by making it “harder for criminals to enter the industry”.