CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Defra
1. We are concerned that Defra still appears
to lack the capacity, the vision, the sense of urgency and the
political will to break the mould and bring about truly sustainable
waste management in this country. (Paragraph 20)
2. The current fragmentation of responsibility
between three Government departments has hindered the evolution
of a consistent approach to resource use and waste management.
The Government as a whole must ensure that its policies are consistent
and mutually supportive. However, whether or not the Government
decides to concentrate waste and resource use policy-making in
a single department, these issues are so far-reaching that there
will always be some degree of shared responsibility. Defra's particular
tasks are to prove that there is sufficient political will to
pay for sustainable waste management and to give the clearest
possible signals of exactly what is required of all the stakeholders
involved. (Paragraph 27)
3. It is vital that Defra improves its approach
to European Union Directives. It should consult with its stakeholders
earlier and we would like it to adopt a "maximum benefit"
approach rather than the "least short-term cost" attitude
it seems to have now. (Paragraph 30)
4. Defra's lack of capacity is an important issue
not only for sustainable waste management but for sustainable
development as a whole. We are encouraged that Defra has recognised
that this is a matter that needs attention and we will return
to this issue in future inquiries. (Paragraph 32)
Environment Agency
5. In our view, regulation of waste facilities
and prevention and prosecution of environmental crimes are the
Environment Agency's most important roles in waste management.
We recognise that it can also offer information and expert advice,
but should the two come into competition, for example for funding,
the Agency must ensure its regulatory obligations are met first.
(Paragraph 33)
6. We are pleased that the Government is pressing
for higher penalties for serious environmental crimes. We recommend
that the proceeds of fines imposed for such crimes be passed to
the Agency to support its work. (Paragraph 36)
7. The Government must ensure that the Environment
Agency is adequately resourced to enforce waste legislation. In
its focus on the most seriously polluting incidents, the Agency
must not lose sight of the smaller scale but cumulatively damaging
crimes such as fly-tipping. (Paragraph 37)
8. New waste management plants must be judged
against the best available techniques and each must be considered
within its local context. Nevertheless, the Environment Agency
must speed up its licensing procedures, without compromising the
level of environmental protection offered, if the necessary increase
in waste treatment facilities is to be achieved. (Paragraph 39)
9. We are concerned that the Environment Agency
does not have the capacity to regulate effectively, particularly
in the face of the increasing demands on it. Unless the public
and the waste management industry can be assured that all facilities
are stringently regulated and operate to the best of international
standards, public confidence in the safety of such facilities
and industry's willingness to invest in the best available equipment
will both be compromised. (Paragraph 53)
Local Authorities
10. We recommend that, where possible, local
authorities produce joint waste strategies to minimise disposal
and to encourage waste minimisation, re-use and recycling. We
also recommend that the Government consider what incentives it
could introduce for disposal authorities to encourage recycling
and composting. (Paragraph 42)
11. We recommend that the Government complete
its deliberations about local authority household incentive schemes
as soon as practicable and certainly by the time of the next Pre-Budget
Report. We are strongly in favour of local authorities being given
the ability to introduce incentive schemes if they so wish.
(Paragraph 58)
12. It remains to be seen whether the total pot
of money available for local authorities to spend on more sustainable
waste management is large enough. However, we are dissatisfied
that what funding there is has to be bid for in competition with
other authorities, or is not specifically for waste, or is tied
to the introduction of Private Finance Initiatives. (Paragraph
63)
13. We welcome the measures in the Anti-Social
Behaviour Bill that will give local authorities greater powers
to take action against fly tipping. We recommend that such powers
be accorded to local authorities as soon as practicable. (Paragraph
66)
14. We recommend that the Government fully support
school waste minimisation and recycling schemes which involve
pupils. The Government should work with local authorities to remove
barriers to schools' inclusion in local authority recycling schemes
as soon as possible. (Paragraph 67)
15. We recommend that the Government move towards
material specific recycling targets, with an emphasis on those
materials whose recycling offers the greatest environmental benefit.
(Paragraph 88)
16. We urge the Government to look again at ways
of recognising success in promoting home composting in local authorities'
waste performance figures. (Paragraph 81)
Economic Instruments
17. We welcome the increase in the landfill
tax and recognise the need for waste producers and local authorities
to have adequate time to prepare for it, but we urge the Government
to raise it more rapidly than the minimum £3 per year outlined
in the Pre-Budget Report. We are persuaded that the tax will have
little influence until it reaches a rate of £35 per tonne.
(Paragraph 46)
18. We recommend that the Government ensure that
all economic instruments - both taxes and subsidies - are used
in such a way that they reflect the position of each waste management
option in the waste hierarchy. (Paragraph 49)
Markets for Recyclates
19. We welcome this wider role for WRAP in
principle, but its focus on markets must not be lost. (Paragraph
68)
20. We are disappointed that the Commission does
not appear to include recycling under its Environmental Guidelines
for state aid, and recommend that the Government support WRAP
in its negotiations with the Commission. (Paragraph 69)
21. We recommend that public bodies adopt green
procurement strategies wherever it is economically feasible to
do so and that Parliament and central Government take the lead.
(Paragraph 70)
Community Waste Projects
22. We recommend that both central and local
government actively support community waste projects. The Government
should consider making the payment of recycling credits to community
waste projects mandatory, or seek other ways in which such projects
can minimise their unrecovered costs. (Paragraph 74)
Biodegradable Waste
23. Defra must ensure that regulations and
guidance on the treatment of biodegradable waste are made available
as soon as possible and that it makes every effort to minimise
the negative impact of such regulations on the composting industry.
(Paragraph 79)
24. Kerbside collections of kitchen waste and
paper may prove to be essential if England is to meet its landfill
targets. We would expect the paper to be recycled, but the choice
between home composting and central composting depends on local
circumstances. (Paragraph 80)
25. This is an opportunity for Defra to integrate
its soil and organic waste strategies and to provide a springboard
for an internationally competitive composting industry to export
its expertise. We recommend that it takes the opportunity. (Paragraph
82)
Hazardous Waste
26. Hazardous wastes are by their nature
the most likely to cause damage to human health and the environment.
The Government should prioritise waste minimisation, producer
responsibility and safe treatment for these wastes. (Paragraph
83)
27. In its response to this report, Defra should
set out the progress it has made in preparing for next year's
reduction in hazardous waste landfill capacity and also the activities
of the hazardous waste forum. (Paragraph 85)
Incineration
28. Where there is still significant scientific
doubt about the impacts of different methods of waste management,
the Government should commission new research into those impacts.
(Paragraph 52)
29. The Government should publish a report
on the use of incineration techniques setting out the case
both for and against this type of waste disposal. It should also
make its own position clear on incineration addressing particularly
the health and environmental implications of this type of disposal.ons
of this type of disposal. (Paragraph 52)
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