The chief executive of the Resource Association has said that despite the vote to leave the EU, the UK can still benefit from learning about practices in Europe on resources.
Ray Georgeson made the comments following the Resource Association annual lecture undertaken by Jože Gregorič of the Snaga company that manages waste and resources in Ljubljana.
Snaga has built a system over ten years of separate collections, radical approaches to communications and significantly lower residual waste per capita.
Ray Georgeson (pictured) added: “The UK political situation is certainly fluid and feels febrile. Many questions remain to be resolved about the UK’s future relationship with the EU. I suspect that the circular economy may not be top or even close to the top of the new Prime Minister and new Cabinet’s ‘to do’ list but it is our job to continue to press for some early signals as to how the UK Government intends to move forward on resources and waste policy and the circular economy.
“Understandably, despite uncertainties and fluidity, attention is starting to turn towards how we may find opportunity in the new political and policy landscape for the UK. We need clear signals from Government, but the onus must also be on our industry to help shape our own future.
“We stand ready to help, and call on our colleagues across the sector to work together to find new ways to collaborate to shape future strategy. It’s clear that our colleagues in Defra will need support and we will need to step up to the plate. The challenge of working through the variety of interests and possible tensions over priorities must be tackled and I believe we can do this in an innovative and energising way if we choose to do so.
“We have the fora, the people and the knowledge to do this well. All we need now is the desire and appetite to shape the new landscape for our industry.”
