Five trade associations have contributed to a letter to Resources Minister Dan Rogerson over concerns that progress has stalled.
ADBA, CIWM, ESA, REA and the Resource Association wrote the letter in response to a recent letter from the Minister to stakeholders that said Defra would be withdrawing or reducing activity in a number of areas including commercial and industrial waste and support for local authorities (see here).
In a joint statement, the trade associations said: “Waste is a valuable source of materials, energy and nutrients. The industry has grown strongly over recent years despite the adverse economic climate and has the potential to drive green growth and create jobs in the future.
“As organisations representing responsible operators and professionals in the sector we are concerned that progress in improving resource management in England had already stalled in a number of areas even before the Minister’s recent announcement. However, rather than simply criticise the Government, and recognising the resource constraints in his department, we would like to offer to work closely with Defra to help turn this situation around.
“In our view, the following key areas need to be addressed: waste crime, recycling, collection methods, hazardous waste, commercial and industrial waste, and waste prevention.
“We have found that close and consultative working achieves positive results, and therefore we would like to see this applied to the key areas identified above, so that the scarce resources available to Defra can make the most impact.”
