Responding, EEF the manufacturers’ organisation said that industry had a significant role to play in
waste prevention and using waste as a resource wherever possible.
EEF believes that rather than imposing additional taxation and regulation, which has not worked to date, the voluntary approach is a more welcome creative approach towards greater engagement with business
Commenting, EEF Head of Environment, Gareth Stace, said:
“Industry is keen to play its part in reducing waste and recycling more. However, taxation and regulation has not worked to date. The voluntary approach is a welcome step forward to ensure full engagement with business, but must not be combined with further regulatory burdens. As industry plays its part government must also ensure that those programmes that are already delivering are adequately funded.”
As the government’s waste strategy is developed EEF would like to see the following specific measures:
The new approach of using voluntary sectoral agreements to tackle waste prevention and resource efficiency is welcome. Early engagement with industry is now needed to provide for sector/material specific issues to be addressed and sensible waste reduction and recycling targets to be met.
In addition to ensuring that voluntary agreements are adequately resourced, in the forthcoming Spending Review government must honour its previous commitment to return 100% of the landfill tax to the BREW (Business Resource Efficiency) programme. This programme has been successful in funding waste minimisation and resource efficiency projects but, as yet there has been no commitment to its future funding despite the landfill tax being increased.
EEF supports efforts to divert waste from landfill where environmental, social and economic arguments clearly point to other options. However, government must develop the urgently needed infrastructure for waste, especially for small and medium sized companies.
Whilst welcoming the introduction of a National Board, supported by a Stakeholder Group to oversee the delivery of the strategy, this must not become another level of bureaucracy. Government must ensure that it retains a strategic role to provide leadership and deliver on the shared objectives of reducing waste and encouraging greater levels of recycling
ENDS