Enquiry into Waste Management Indicates the UK Needs a Change of Direction - News Item

The results of an enquiry into waste management has found that the UK needs a change in direction to prevent a repeat of the fridge mountains fiasco. According to a Lords report instigated in response to the European Commission’s ambitious new waste strategies, the UK should set up a single inter-departmental Waste Unit to ensure that implementation of the EU’s green policies remains influential and on target.

The Chairman of the inquiry, Lord Selborne, emphasised the need for a dynamic approach to waste management. ‘EU waste policy is becoming increasingly sophisticated - the government must be more proactive in influencing European strategies, rather than reacting passively to legislative proposals from the Commission,’ he commented. ‘We believe that the current split of responsibility between departments without a clear strategic lead results in a lack of accountability and direction. A single departmental Waste Unit could improve co-ordination within government, act as a centre of expertise and provide a single voice on waste policy, helping to avoid repeats of past failures such as the fridges fiasco.’

In addition to setting up the single Waste Unit, the committee has forwarded a number of recommendations to reinforce the effectiveness of the policy The government have been advised to provide the environment with sufficient resources to aid proactivity during policy development in Brussels.

It is also planned that the interdepartmental group will be bolstered by a government website that will be able to instruct and advise visitors on matters relating to waste management, which it is hoped will go some way in achieving the Commission’s objective of improving the transparency of the legislative process by making the procedures involved accessible and accountable to public scrutiny.

Posted January 2004