Cllr Clyde Loakes, Chair of North London Waste Authority, has welcomed the Government’s Waste and Resources Strategy for England (published today, Tuesday 18 December 2018). The Authority serves over two million people and is the UK’s second largest waste disposal authority.
Cllr Clyde Loakes, Chair of NLWA, said: "Waste has been an issue of rising public concern over recent years, especially with the arrival of David Attenborough’s ‘Blue Planet II’ series. It is therefore good news that the Government has acted on this concern and has finally published its long anticipated waste and resources strategy for England.
"Our Authority already has an active programme designed to support north London residents to waste less, repair, reuse, reimagine and recycle more; we therefore welcome the Strategy’s commitment to waste reduction and resource efficiency and its overall approach across the production of materials, consumption and resource management. In particular we welcome proposals to move away from weight based recycling targets, introduce a core set of recyclable materials, increase the charge for single-use carrier bags, and to overhaul the current ‘producer responsibility’ policies and arrangements, which are in urgent need of reform. However, delivery of this Strategy will rely on new revenue and capital funding being made available to local government by Government: without it little will change.
"It will now be crucial for the Government to follow up its Strategy with more detailed, properly funded, proposals which turn the aims into a reality within real and meaningful timescales. Clearly, local authorities like ours have a vital role and practical expertise to offer. We can help to ensure that the comprehensive approach outlined in the Strategy provides real and properly enforced long-term solutions that benefit both people and the environment.
"We therefore look forward to learning more about the detail of these proposals and engaging in the forthcoming consultations to press home the message that specific and positive action is needed to provide the sustainable, circular economy we all want to see and the environment desperately needs."
ENDS
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