The Environmental Services Association (ESA) has welcomed the publication of the National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA).
The NIA has made a series of recommendations to help put in place the right infrastructure for the transition to a more circular economy which the ESA has broadly congratulated. However, it says it’s also missed an opportunity to ‘move away from blunt municipal recycling targets’ to something more effective.
Commenting on the publication, ESA’s executive director Jacob Hayler said:
‘We are pleased to see a high level of ambition in the NIA’s recommendations on resources and waste policy which even exceeds that of the EU Circular Economy Package.
‘ESA has long called for greater consistency, more food waste collections, and better eco-design to boost recycling, all of which are reflected in the NIA.
‘The key to all this though is funding. The Government will need to ensure that Extended Producer Responsibility works for all parts of the waste stream to make it a reality.
‘We also feel there is an opportunity that is not recognised by the NIA to move away from blunt municipal recycling targets towards something which more effectively targets environmental outcomes and value. ESA has commissioned forthcoming research which will examine this further.’
