Waste strategy an excellent opportunity

For the biowaste treatment industry. This week has seen the publication of the Government's long-awaited Waste Strategy for England. The strategy outlines how the Government plans to manage this country's waste and is the result of an extensive consultation process which took place during 2006.

Jane Gilbert, Chief Executive of the Composting Association said “We welcome the publication of the Government's Waste Strategy. We feel that the measures it contains will go a long way towards encouraging development of the composting and biological waste treatment industries.

“As an Association we are pleased to see increased targets for composting and recycling and welcome any initiatives to reduce the amount of untreated waste sent to landfill sites. Composting already plays a vital role in carbon management, returning nutrients and organic matter to the soil which might otherwise have been lost if sent for disposal.

“The composting and biological waste treatment industries have an important part to play in this country's efforts to tackle the waste issue and our members are well placed to process it for the good of the environment.

“This strategy provides our members with a great opportunity for diversification and for the creation of integrated biowaste treatment sites. The strategy backs the use of anaerobic digestion as a way of diverting waste from landfill and this is an area in which many of our members are already working. They have the necessary expertise in biowaste treatment to take this forward and to make a really positive contribution to the environment, the economy and to society.

“With the publication of this Strategy and the recent Energy White Paper which supported anaerobic digestion, it looks like the Government now shares the commitment of our members to the sustainable management of biodegradable resources.

“However, we are still concerned that the waste infrastructure lags behind and that this country does not have enough facilities in place to meet the targets set by the Government for 2010. We would call on the Government to re-examine the planning process and to facilitate the development of more waste treatment facilities.”

1. The Composting Association is the UK's leading membership organisation for the composting and biological waste treatment industries. It is committed to the sustainable management of biodegradable resources. It promotes the benefits of composting and other biological treatment techniques and the use of biologically treated materials for the enhancement of the environment, business and society.

visit www.compost.org.uk