Investors, bankers, asset financiers and entrepreneurs are today (22 May) meeting at an ‘Investor Symposium’ to discuss ways of improving growth and investment in the waste and recycling industry.

The summit, thought to be the ‘first’ of its kind, will be hosted by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson and will see government and industry representatives meet at Livery Hall, London to find ways to invest in the sector, which the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) projects will grow by three per cent per year.

The key objectives for the symposium are to:

• allow ministers to ‘listen directly to views on the challenges and opportunities to the sector’;
• share and hear other opinions in a ‘proactive discussion’; and
• network with senior respresentatives of the finance and operational sectors

Speeches will be given by representatives from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), as well as delegates from Coca-Cola Enterprises and Eco Plastics. Group discussions will take place among those present, with Resource Minister Lord de Mauley presenting the closing remarks.

Businesses could save £23 billion

WRAP CEO, Dr Liz Goodwin is expected to say: "In these austere times, collectively as businesses and governments, we are all too aware of the need to rethink our ways of working in order to stimulate growth. From market traders through to multinational corporations, there is only one message in town, and that’s growth. Yet, as we have all seen, growth is not easy to achieve, particularly if the landscape you are working in is so volatile that a safe path to recovery is almost non-existent.

"Defra research shows UK businesses can save up to £23 billion through low cost or no cost improvements in the efficient use of resources... [and] activities from WRAP’s work to date are expected to generate £3 billion in additional sales for the UK recycling and reprocessing sector. So why isn’t the resource management sector attracting more investment and what can be done to encourage investment supply?

"The bringing together of investors, bankers, asset financiers and developers in one room - as we have done today - offers a unique opportunity to understand some of the challenges to investment and discuss your recommendations for overcoming them."

Commenting on the event, Owen Paterson said: “There is a huge global market in waste and recycling and I want to see UK businesses leading the way on this. Dealing with waste and recycling properly is good for business as well as the environment and has the potential to boost economic growth and create jobs.

“To make it happen I want to break down the barriers businesses face to ensure they can compete and lead in the global race.”

The sector currently generates over £12 billion a year in the UK and employs over 100,000 people. Figures from November 2012 showed that more waste was recycled, composted or reused in England than was sent to landfill, the first time since records began.

However, Defra states that every year £5 billion of recycled material is sent abroad instead of being processed in the UK. With the amount of material recycled more than doubling between 2000 and 2010, Defra states that ‘it is absolutely vital that the UK has the capacity to deal with this growing industry in the future’.

William Mainwaring, co-founder and CEO of Vertech and Sicut Enterprises Limited, said: “The Investor Symposium offers a much needed forum for the wide range of leaders in the resource management sector to discuss innovations, opportunities and challenges.

“As a manufacturer, we are particularly keen to meet with stakeholders from other disciplines and to share thoughts on how to collectively seize the significant opportunities within the sector while overcoming the barriers to growth, particularly investment in small businesses.”

Symposium a ‘vital opportunity’

Dr Liz Goodwin, Chief Executive of WRAP, added: “A resource efficient economy offers substantial growth opportunities for UK businesses, so investment in the sector needs active encouragement through industry engagement.

“WRAP has years of experience working with investors in this sector, and the Investor Symposium offers industry leaders a vital opportunity to discuss the challenges and solutions to unlock economic growth.”

According to WRAP, the Green Investment Bank, a project set up by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, estimates that between £300 and £400 billion of investment is required in waste management infrastructure by 2020.

WRAP states that financing for new infrastructure is a key barrier to ‘profitable growth that provides new employment as well as environmental benefits’.

PFI withdrawal

The symposium follows on from Defra’s controversial withdrawal of private finance initiative (PFI) funding from three waste management projects earlier this year.

A total of £217.1 million of Defra funding was withdrawn from three waste PFI projects in February, after the department found that the 29 projects that already had funding were ‘sufficient’ to meet the EU’s 2020 landfill diversion targets.

Three projects, in Yorkshire, Bradford and Calerdale and Merseyside were affected by the decision.

According to Defra, these three projects were the only remaining PFI contracts that had yet to reach financial close and would reportedly reduce the likelihood of meeting the 2020 diversion targets by two per cent.

In a statement, Defra said: “We are investing £3.6 billion in 29 waste infrastructure projects. This will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, promote recycling and stimulate economic growth. We now expect to have sufficient infrastructure in England to enable the UK to meet the EU target of reducing waste sent to landfill. Consequently the decision has been taken not to fund the remaining three projects.”

North Yorkshire County Council has since applied for a judicial review into the decision, as it believed the withdrawal of funding ‘was not done in the proper manner’.

It is hoped that this symposium will help develop investment opportunities that will safeguard against this kind of action in future.