The Labour Party would follow Wales and Scotland in setting more challenging recycling targets according to the Party’s new waste policy document, ‘Resource security: jobs and growth from waste’.

Shadow Environment Secretary, Mary Creagh, and Shadow Waste Minister, Gavin Shuker, officially launched the document on Friday (19 April) at the Vitsoe furniture factory in Camden, London.

In the review, Labour criticises the coalition government stating that municipal waste progress ‘has stalled’ and the 2011 Waste Reviewwas a ‘missed opportunity to drive innovation and boost investor confidence’.

Setting out the party’s policy priorities ahead of the 2015 general election, the document claims that Labour will ‘focus on generating sustainable growth and new jobs in and through the waste industry’, citing the progress the Welsh Labour government has made as evidence that ‘political action can drive up standards and create jobs’.

Key Points

A key issue raised by the review is the UK’s current recycling targets, with Labour stating that current government plans will ‘barely meet’ the UK’s EU obligations to recycle 50 per cent of municipal waste by 2020.

Reportedly, the Labour Party will review how these targets can be ‘realigned to drive up performance’ and explore whether England’s recycling targets should be aligned with those of Scotland and Wales – such as setting a household waste recycling target of 70 per cent by 2025.

Labour has also targeted the exploitation of ‘poor people and their children in developing countries’ as a repercussion of the UK’s environmental commitments and suggets seeking reform of the Packaging Waste Export Recover Note (PERN) system, which it says incentivises business to export poor quality recyclate overseas.

According to the review, the new Labour government would also:

• create ‘green jobs’ within the resource industry;
• encourage manufacturers to take environmental commitments seriously;
• support innovation in designing out waste;
• promote ‘fair trade’ recycling;
• incentivise the private sector to help deliver higher recycling;
• ensure skills and training for jobs; and
• promote compliance and improve the standard of feed stock.

However, the review gives no mention to the possibility of Labour including a ban on sending food waste to landfill among its future waste policies.

Positive reactions

Speaking of the review, Environmental Services Association Chairman David Palmer-Jones, said: “Labour has rightly grasped the opportunity for the waste and resources industry to be an engine of green growth. The challenge now will be to develop detailed proposals that provide a sound framework for businesses to invest in building a circular economy.

“The document identifies some key issues here including the need for a sense of ambition and the urgent need to make Whitehall policy in this area more joined up than it currently is.“

Gareth Stace, Head of Climate and Environmental Policy at manufacturer’s organistation EEF, also welcomed the review, saying: “Developing a strategy for resource management is vital for the environment and to ensure a sustainable future for our economy…We must now step up our ambitions to deal with the resource challenges of today and tomorrow."

Ray Georgeson, from the Resource Association applauded the review’s “inclusive approach” which takes on board “thinking from across the spectrum of the waste and resources sector”, adding it was a “positive signal for the UK recycling and reprocessing sector”.

He continued: “As a work in progress, the review is good and it sets a direction of travel and interest in increasing recycling targets in England to match Wales and Scotland, as well as point to areas where more work and input is needed.

“The devil of course, is in the detail, and so we look forward to submitting detailed comments to the next stage of their consultation process.”

The consultation document is available at YourBritain.org.uk for stakeholders to comment.