The waste management and recycling sector has responded positively to an anticipated consultation on environmental taxes, ahead of Wednesday’s Budget.
While Defra is already consulting on a bottle deposit scheme, further measures to reduce the use of single use plastics could feature in chancellor Philip Hammond’s announcement on Wednesday (22 November).
Further measures to reduce the use of single use plastics could feature in the Budget announcement
The Environmental Services Association (ESA), today has urged the Treasury to help create the right policy environment that will attract ‘much-needed’ investment into the waste and recycling industry.
ESA
And, in terms of environmental taxes, the association argued that a number of areas should be looked at such ass Green Public Procurement, lower VAT for recycled content, and eco-design rules as “part of a suite of measures to help improve the quantity and quality of recycling. Furthermore, long-term certainty of Landfill Tax and continued funding to tackle waste crime are essential to creating a stable investment climate.”
ESA argued that without intervention to drive up recycling rates, the UK will be left with a ‘shortfall’ of up to six million tonnes of waste without a home by 2030. “Even with municipal recycling rates 15% higher than today, there remains a risk that we will not have the treatment facilities we need for the waste generated by our homes and businesses,” the ESA said.
The Association is calling on HM Treasury to work with Defra to help boost UK recycling.
ESA’s executive director, Jacob Hayler, said: “The Chancellor has an opportunity in Wednesday’s Budget to help boost the UK’s resource productivity. Too many of our resources are wasted and we need much stronger action to improve packaging design and encourage the use of recycled materials in products.
“Our industry has made huge strides in raising recycling and putting our discarded resources back into productive use. But without intervention, we are worried that decades of progress in managing our resources will begin to reverse. However, with the right policy support, we can extract value from waste to safeguard our natural capital, boost resource productivity, and create thousands of jobs around the country.”
Suez
“We welcome any government initiative which seeks to drive down the use of single-use plastics in favour of more sustainable, recyclable, forms of packaging and products.”
David Palmer-Jones
Suez
Meanwhile, waste management firm Suez has released a response to an anticipated call-for-evidence regarding levies against single use plastics which has been highlighted in the national press.
David Palmer-Jones, CEO of Suez recycling and recovery UK, said: “We welcome any government initiative which seeks to drive down the use of single-use plastics in favour of more sustainable, recyclable, forms of packaging and products.
He continued: “This is a vital step towards achieving a more resource-efficient society and encouraging producers to take more responsibility.
“An extended producer responsibility regime should address all forms of resource usage, materials and packaging production, and their collection, reuse and recycling across the supply chain.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Plastic
