Defra’s step back from implementing any new policies around waste and recycling could jeopardise progress towards the 50% by 2020 EU recycling targets, MPs have warned.
The warning came in a report on waste management in England, compiled by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which took evidence from the waste industry, the Welsh Government and the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
In response to the report, the Department has come under fire from the waste management sector, local authorities and campaign groups including: the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC); the Environmental Services Association; Viridor; UK Without Incineration Network; and the Renewable Energy Association.
Many were in support of the recommendations made by the report, which included implementing a ban on sending any recyclable material to landfill by 2025 as well as finding ways to increase the amount of food waste that is diverted from landfill. Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) was also a particularly hot topic, with Viridor and the REA claiming it was beneficial to keep it in the UK rather than export it.