Taking the lead
8.22. It is vital that government departments
lead by example in reducing their own waste. Although pan-governmental
performance on waste reduction has been good, some departments
still lag behind and we are concerned that targets are not challenging
enough. Departmental performance on sustainable procurement has
been disappointing and procurement staff often fail to recognise
the lifetime cost of products. We welcome the establishment of
the Centre of Expertise for Sustainable Procurement and recommend
that it should urgently review the knowledge of procurement staff,
providing training where necessary, to ensure that staff recognise
the true costs of the products they buy and understand how the
principles of waste reduction fit into the larger aims of sustainability.
(para 7.10)
8.23. We support the Government's attempts to
increase opportunities for small businesses to compete for procurement
contracts and hope that their work will lead to a greater understanding
and removal of the barriers which currently prevent this. (para
7.11)
8.24. We welcome the fact that waste prevention
has been recognised as an important strand within the Government's
Waste Strategy, but this approach must be backed up with the appropriate
policies. Progress is being made in tackling domestic waste, but
this accounts for a relatively small proportion of all waste in
the UK and more attention must now be paid to other waste streams.
The Government should continue to work with stakeholders to ensure
that policies are set appropriately, but the Government should
now also take the lead in developing a strategy to reduce industrial
and commercial waste. We welcome the revision of the Waste Framework
Directive which we hope will contribute towards a more efficient
use of resources and reiterate the importance of Government working
with other EU Member States to ensure that the directive's provisions
are implemented as quickly as possible. (para 7.39)
8.25. Following their campaign to promote re-use
and recycling, the Government must now provide clear and consistent
signals that waste reduction is a priority. Businesses will not
invest in sustainable practices unless they are confident of the
Government's long-term policies, and consumers will not change
behaviours without education or incentives. In order to engage,
enable and encourage businesses and consumers to embrace waste
reduction, it is crucial that work is undertaken on a whole supply
chain basis, examining the impacts of products throughout their
lifetime. We endorse the use of the product roadmap approach which
tackles particular products or waste streams by working with all
the relevant players, including manufacturers, retailers and consumers.
We hope that the Government will use these roadmaps to provide
industry and the general public with clear guidance on the direction
they are taking. (para 7.40)
8.26. We support the use of voluntary sectoral
agreements to bring stakeholders together in tackling specific
waste streams, enabling businesses to recognise the costs of their
waste and giving them the opportunity and guidance to minimise
it. The Government must be prepared to monitor these agreements
and review policies when necessary. (para 7.41)
8.27. The Government must engage with industry
and provide the assurances and certainty required to enable businesses
to invest in waste reduction strategies. In order to encourage
innovation, we recommend that the Government adopt the "top
runner" approach wherever possible. This strategy should
involve the use of standards and choice editing, pre-selecting
the most sustainable products, to drive continued improvements
in sustainability. (para 7.42)
8.28. We were disappointed by the unwillingness
of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss
fiscal incentives and recommend that the department should work
with the Treasury to review the case for implementing variable
Value Added Tax to promote the development of sustainable products.
(para 7.43)
8.29. It is important that the Government address
areas of public concern in order to engage with members of the
public and encourage behavioural changes. Nevertheless, the Government's
focus must now widen to include other waste streams apart from
the obvious options of domestic waste and packaging. We welcome
the identification of key materials from the commercial, industrial
and construction sectors, but recommend that the Government should
provide greater clarity about who will be taking the lead in addressing
production and consumption in each of these areas and who will
be responsible for promoting and monitoring the over-arching aim
of waste reduction. (para 7.44)
