The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) have provided evidence on the Waste Prevention Plan for England.
According to CIWEM there is too much focus on the waste at the end of life, they believe that the Government need to acknowledge that the efficient and environmentally responsible use of materials must be independent of whether they are raw materials, products or waste.
CIWEM responded to Defra’s call for more evidence on the Waste Prevention Programme for England by calling for more action to be taken further up the supply chain, as well as the removal of perverse incentives that actually encourage waste.
Referring to its recently published report on waste prevention, CIWEM advocated that the Government should make use of the Waste Prevention Programme to look widely at resource issues rather than specific waste streams.
The response by CIWEM highlighted that this not solely an issue for the waste management industry and that the local authorities cannot continue to independently manage waste.
With seventy percent of wasted materials and energy during extraction and production, CIWEM urged Government to ask more from businesses, who currently have full authority to supply products with no environmental responsibility for their impact.
CIWEM said that more must be done to prevent waste by design; and held that both businesses and the Government have a role in making the sustainable option the default choice for consumers.
Nick Reeves OBE, CIWEM Executive Director, said:
“We live on a finite planet; our wastefulness cannot continue. This is our big opportunity to drive a new path to a more efficient, circular economy that will preserve our natural environment and define a more resourceful, resilient society. Government must take the lead and do all it can to ensure that waste is minimised and bad behaviour changed for good.”
References:
Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management
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