Press Release
10 July 2018

CIWM says National Infrastructure Assessment sets welcome challenge for the Government on resource and waste management

Today, the National Infrastructure Commission published its first ever National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA) looking at the UK’s infrastructure needs out to 2050. Alongside consideration of sectors such as road transport, telecommunications and energy, the NIA also considers resource and waste management. It sets out a number of recommendations to Government under the general heading of ‘incinerating less, recycling more’:

• Setting a target for recycling 65% of municipal waste and 75% of plastic packaging by 2030, with individual targets for all local authorities and financial support for transitional costs.
• Establishing:

o Clear two symbol labelling (recyclable or not recyclable) across the UK by 2022.
o A consistent national standard of recycling for households and businesses by 2025.
o Restrictions on the use of hard-to-recycle plastic packaging (PVC and polystyrene) by 2025.
o Incentives to reduce packaging and for product design that is more easily recyclable by 2022.
o A common data reporting framework for businesses handling commercial and industrial waste by the end of 2019, ideally through voluntary reporting but if necessary by legislation.

The Government has committed to responding to the NIA within six months (with a final deadline of a year).

Commenting on the NIA, CIWM’s chief executive Dr Colin Church said:

“Over the past couple of years or so, CIWM and others in the sector have been working hard with the NIC to help them understand resource and waste management, the challenges it faces and the opportunities it offers. It is therefore particularly good to see key points we have been making reflected here. If the Governments in England (and, where appropriate, across the UK) take up these recommendations, that will represent significant progress towards a more resource efficient and circular economy. 

“The work on infrastructure design is also interesting, and CIWM has already been making the case to the NIC that this needs take full account of end of use and end of life as well as aesthetic and and usability concerns during use.

“I particularly note the comment that ‘England should not settle for the minimum standards set out in EU legislation but should seek to be amongst the best performers, learning from the example set by Wales’. This is a welcome challenge to the Government on resource and waste management, one that the whole sector will be hoping it takes up in its Resource and Waste Strategy later this year.”

The full report can be found at https://www.nic.org.uk/assessment/national-infrastructure-assessment/

ENDS
Notes to Editors: 
1. CIWM is the leading professional body for the resource and waste management sector representing around 5,500 individuals in the UK, Ireland 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. More information can be found at www.ciwm.co.uk

Press contact:
Pat Jennings
Head of Policy & Communications
Tel: 01604 620426
Mob: 07912 228260
Email: pat.jennings@ciwm.co.uk