The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is calling on the Government to "think outside the box" when it comes to its waste policy so as to unleash the economic potential of this under-valued resource and secure the infrastructure investment needed to meet climate change targets.
Launching a new report, '
Making Ends Meet: Maximising The Value Of Waste’, today, the
CBI said an ambitious
waste policy could, at the same time as reducing the amount of rubbish sent to landfill, provide growth opportunities for businesses, for example, by incentivising businesses to sell their recyclable
waste to other companies as a resource. It could also help councils make savings through sharing waste and recycling facilities.
Investment barrier
Around 2000 new waste management facilities need to be built by 2020 at an estimated cost of £10 billion to cope with the closure of 300 UK landfill sites over the next decade. But the CBI points out that it takes seven years on average for a waste management company to get a plant up and running, of which four are spent in the planning process.
"That is not the way to attract
investment," said Dr Neil Bentley, CBI deputy director-general. "We risk missing a trick by not harnessing the huge potential of waste. Rather than being viewed in isolation, waste management should be seen as an important part of the green economy and our growth strategy."
Poor recycling record
The Government, which is undertaking a review of its waste policy, is committed to delivering a zero waste economy. However, the CBI report highlights how far it still has to go to catch up with countries such as Germany where recycling rates reached 66 per cent in 2008-09, compared to 37 per cent for household recycling rates in the UK. There are also large variations on waste and recycling across the English regions.
"Ambitious waste policies will allow the Government to hit a broad range of its objectives from cutting emissions to bolstering energy security," said Bentley. "But moving to a zero waste economy will require Government departments working together and thinking outside the box."
Don't pick winners
As well as calling on cross-governmental cooperation, the report makes a number of other recommendations, including developing a better policy around commercial and industrial waste and implementing a diverse range of waste and resource management options.
"Defra should avoid picking 'technology winners’ and allow the market to develop the most appropriate solution for the available waste streams," the report says.
The CBI report follows one launched last month by the Institution of Civil Engineers, which also highlights the UK's poor record on recycling and investment in energy from waste facilities and calls on the UK waste industry to move from a disposal sector into a supply sector.
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