CIWM would like to use cookies to store information on your computer, to improve our website. One of the cookies we use is essential for parts of the site to operate and has already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but parts of the site will not work. To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them, see our CIWM Privacy Policy.

CIWM
You are here: CIWM  >  Media Centre  >  Press Releases Archive  >  Press Releases 2010  >  Press Release 19 January 2010

Press Release 19 January 2010

CIWM response to the EFRA Committee report on the Waste Strategy for England 2007

CIWM welcomes the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Select Committee report on the Waste Strategy for England 2007, in particular the emphasis placed on waste prevention, commercial and industrial (C&I) waste, and planning. The report makes a number of useful practical recommendations, but CIWM would have liked the committee to go further and address some of the wider strategic questions.

The UK has made strong progress in the last decade but a more holistic approach to waste is now overdue. Not only has the policy framework been primarily focused on municipal waste, but the main emphasis has also been on recycling rather than waste prevention, reuse and the recovery of energy where appropriate. CIWM has been calling for the scope to be broadened and Defra has acknowledged that more needs to be done in these areas, and is already working to this effect.

Waste prevention is a complex and challenging area. The UK needs a robust framework to support the delivery of a coherent and achievable National Waste Prevention Plan by 2013 - the deadline set by the EU's Waste Framework Directive. This means good baseline data and effective mechanisms for calculating material flows to allow progress to be measured. It involves complex modelling to assess the long term downstream impact on the UK's collection and treatment infrastructure needs. It requires cross party support and buy-in at every level - from consumers to blue chip companies, from local councillors to product designers. It will need major investment in sustained communications to bring about behaviour change at a time of significant cuts in government spending

Diverting more waste streams from landfill, including C&I waste, and putting useful materials back to work means more waste treatment infrastructure. With PFI unlikely to continue in its current form, the question is how this infrastructure is to be funded and can it be delivered in the required timescales given the constraints of the planning system. The Committee is right to highlight the planning skills gap, but an equally pressing issue is the fundamental disconnect between the timely delivery of facilities and the complex strategic planning processes at regional and local level.

Ultimately, it is not just a question of waste, it is a question of how to make best use of our resources. Not only do we need the policy focus to better reflect the Waste Hierarchy and expand to embrace all wastes, we need it to be effectively linked in to strategies on energy, planning, sustainable consumption and production, carbon, and climate change. CIWM would have welcomed more from the Committee on developing a policy framework to achieve this set of higher objectives.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) is the leading professional body for the waste management sector representing over 7000 individuals in the UK and overseas. Established in 1898, CIWM is a non profit-making organisation, dedicated to the promotion of professional competence amongst waste managers. CIWM seeks to raise standards for those working in and with the sector by producing best practice guidance, developing educational and training initiatives, and providing information on key waste-related issues.

2. Comprehensive information about CIWM can be found at www.ciwm.co.uk

Contacts:

Pat Jennings
Communications Office
Tel: 01604 620426
Mob: 07912 228260
E-mail: pat.jennings@ciwm.co.uk