Defra’s disappointing waste consultation
True to form, Defra has followed up a disappointing consultation on a waste management plan for England with an equally disappointing consultation document on a waste prevention programme for England. As with the former, the abiding impression is that of another tick-box exercise intended to meet the UK’s obligations under Article 29 of the European Union Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC.
The consultation is more a high-level discussion of the principles behind a possible waste prevention programme for England, than an invitation to comment on a concrete programme complete with facts, figures, targets, metrics, actions, quantified outcomes and milestones. Given that the waste prevention programme is to be published in December, the consultation is hardly a serious attempt to address this difficult issue.
Especially disappointing is the absence of quantitative targets, which are essential if any waste-related plan or programme is to be taken seriously. In contrast, Scotland has committed to cutting total waste from households and businesses by 5 per cent by 2015 and 15 per cent by 2025, with the latter designed to deliver annual resource efficiency savings of up to £1.4 billion. Wales is committed to annual reductions in household, industrial and commercial waste of 1.2 per cent, 1.4 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively by 2050, supported by further sector-specific targets.
Directive 2008/98/EC lists a host of enabling measures that might be considered by Member States – among them planning measures, economic instruments promoting the efficient use of resources, the promotion of eco-design principles and the like. None of these are discussed in the consultation. With the meager fare on offer here, an opportunity to engage in other than a superficial way with stakeholders has been squandered.
Accepting that everyone in society has a responsibility to cut waste, Governments must do more than express good intentions. Environmental improvements do not happen by themselves – the economic signals are simply not strong or visible enough for the average householder or resource-hungry business to spontaneously change their production methods and consumption practices. By taking a back seat, Defra seems to have abrogated its responsibility to design the new policies and legal instruments that are needed to shape the environmental outcomes we desire