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ESA Sets out its Priorities for the New Government
14.05.2010
ESA Sets out its Priorities for the New Government
The Environmental Services Association (ESA) looks forward to working with the new Government to enable our sector to deliver the infrastructure that is essential for the UK to meet its renewable energy and recycling ambitions. ESA welcomes the appointments of Caroline Spelman MP as the new Environment Secretary and Chris Huhne MP at Energy and Climate Change.
ESA’s priorities for the new Government are:
1. Planning
The planning system has a pivotal role to play to enable essential recycling and energy recovery infrastructure to be provided. However, many of the basic principles of planning reform have not been adequately realised and ESA urges the new Government to make significant improvements to the planning system to facilitate the introduction of essential waste infrastructure.
2. Recycling & Recovery
Over the last decade the recycling of municipal waste in England has quintupled and ESA’s Members look forward to delivering even greater levels of recovery in the future. ESA wants the new Government to put in place clear incentives to maximise the recovery of materials and energy from the UK’s waste stream, such as encouraging domestic end markets for recyclate through standards for green public procurement; accelerating the development of End of Waste Protocols; and ensuring that any additional landfill bans have sufficient lead-in time to allow for the provision of alternative treatment routes for banned materials.
3. Energy Policy
The waste management sector remains the single largest generator of renewable energy in the United Kingdom, producing one third of Britain’s renewable electricity. ESA hopes that the new Government will recognise the strong potential role for energy from waste to meet the UK’s energy policy goals and urges closer coordination of energy and waste policy, and coordination of local waste plans and energy plans.
4. Regulation
ESA believes that an effective regulatory regime is a critical driver for the UK to develop a resource efficient economy. To make the required investment in infrastructure our industry requires a clear and precise legal framework which provides clear incentives to maximise the recovery of materials and energy from the waste stream; robust and consistent enforcement by the regulator; and proper funding for the policing of environmental crime.
5. Finance
The delivery of the new waste infrastructure required by the UK will also be heavily dependent on the procurement and financing of new facilities. ESA urges the new Government to maintain a floor under landfill tax rates to act as a long term driver to encourage investment in alternative infrastructure; and improve the procurement process to reduce time and costs both for bidding contractors and local authorities.
6. Health and Safety
ESA continues to lead the drive to improve Health and Safety in the sector. ESA wants a new Government to ensure that policies to encourage further rates of recycling give full consideration to the health, safety and welfare implications for the public and ESA Members’ employees; and to ensure that local authorities properly consider and evaluate the management of health and safety when devising and procuring waste management services.
7. Europe
European legislation has a significant impact on the waste and resource management industry in the UK. ESA urges the new Government to implement the Waste Framework Directive in a timely and transparent way and ensure that any reform to European public procurement legislation maintains the principles of fair competition between the public and private sectors.
ESA’s Chairman, Ian Goodfellow said, ”ESA looks forward to a productive relationship with the newly appointed officials. We hope the new Government will help our sector to deliver much needed recycling and recovery infrastructure, in particular by removing some of the current blockages in the planning system”.
ENDS
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