CIWM launches new report with ten recommendations for the sector and the UK Government to capitalise on the drive towards net zero and a circular economy.
Earlier this year, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management’s (CIWM) Policy & Innovation Forum commissioned and endorsed an independent review of the UK’s policy landscape from a resources and waste sector perspective.
The report ‘Let’s Not Waste the Next Four Years’ identifies opportunities for the sector to drive the transition to a circular economy, and to contribute to the UK Government’s evolving ‘Plan for Change’ agenda.
Based on the report, CIWM has today published ten recommendations for the sector and the UK Government to deliver on their mutual priorities of jobs, growth and investment, and to take advantage of the drive towards net zero and a circular economy.
The recommendations are:
- The Circular Economy must become central to Government thinking, as CIWM says there is ‘clear evidence’ that it directly supports the government’s ‘Plan for Change’.
- Cross-Government policy integration must be strengthened across the resources and waste, energy, industrial strategy and net zero spheres.
- Skills England should broaden its focus to incentivise green skills initiatives and deliver more jobs.
- Improved resource resilience should remain a focus for government, as CIWM says there are clear long-term advantages in the context of global political and economic instability.
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) should be applied to additional waste streams, including WEEE, batteries, textiles and mattresses, should be a priority.
- Reuse and repair needs further, and specific, policy support, including the establishment of clear targets and responsibilities throughout the supply chain.
- Dan Corry’s review of Defra’s Regulatory Landscape provides an opportunity for the resources and waste sector to work with regulators for improved outcomes.
- The increased cost of Energy-from-Waste (EfW), arising from bringing it into the UK ETS, must be reflected in packaging EPR fees to fully apply the polluter pays principle.
- The Resources & Waste Strategy 2018 reforms need to be fully implemented to ensure improved economic, social and environmental outcomes.
- Tackling waste crime needs more focus and additional resources, as CIWM says waste crime at all levels continues to be a ‘£1 billion drag on the UK economy’.
Commenting on the launch, Dan Cooke, CIWM Director of Policy, Communications & External Affairs, said: “This paper highlights the game-changing policies and regulations having to be navigated by our sector, which is the bedrock of any circular economy.
“Let’s not waste the next four years. By working closely with the sector on critical issues such as incentivising skills, tackling waste crime and aligning key policy themes, government can take full advantage of the economic growth opportunities that the drive towards a circular economy and net zero must bring.”
In 2024, CIWM conducted a Review of the Resources and Waste Strategy and published ten policy opportunities.
Since then, one recommendation has been fully implemented: the creation of a cross-government task force on resources, the Circular Economy Task Force.
Four are in the process of being implemented, which include creating a new strategy, implementing the existing resources and waste strategy measures, reforming key sector regulation, and introducing targeted economic instruments.
Five have not been adopted so far, which are a focus on green skills, introducing EPR for new waste streams, setting targets for the top half of the waste hierarchy, pricing raw materials to include negative environmental externalities, and strengthening eco-design and waste prevention.
Marcus Gover, Chair of CIWM’s Policy & Innovation Forum, commented: “While all eyes are on the forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy for England, this review shows the importance of a wider policy perspective for operators and service providers in the resources and waste sector.
“Our recommendations show that there are major opportunities for the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations to enable our sector to contribute in full to the shared ambitions of sustainable economic growth, more renewable energy, and acceleration towards net zero and a circular economy over the next four years and beyond.”