Isra-Mart srl:CBI urges government to revamp rubbish strategy

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Waste management should be central to the government's green economy strategy as it offers massive commercial opportunities as well as significant environmental gains, according to a report published today by the CBI.

The report, entitled 'Making Ends Meet: Maximising the value of waste', says increasing the adoption of waste to energy technologies would reduce carbon emissions and help bolster the UK's energy security, while also reducing the risk of breaching EU landfill targets.

The employers group is now calling on the government to improve efficiency across the waste management sector by encouraging councils to share recycling and waste facilities and incentivising businesses to sell their recyclable waste.

According to the report, around 2,000 new waste management facilities will need to be built by 2020 to replace the 300 landfill sites due to close over the next decade. However, it warns that the £10bn of private sector investment required to build new waste-to-energy plants and recycling facilities will not be forthcoming without clearer signals from government to investors.

More certainty over planning, improved data on commercial and industrial waste levels, and an integrated local policy to help different councils deliver zero waste policies will be required to drive private investment, the report warns.

Dr Neil Bentley, the CBI's deputy director-general, said a more integrated approach to waste management was required that incorporates a number of government departments.

"We risk missing a trick by not harnessing the huge potential of waste," he said. "Rather than being viewed in isolation, waste management should be seen as an important part of the green economy and our growth strategy."

He added that there was an urgent need to tackle the planning delays faced by many waste management projects. "On average it takes seven years for a waste management company to get a plant up and running, of which four are spent in the planning process," he said. "That is not the way to attract investment."