Archived press release

Waste Management Strategy: strike three - you're out!

23 June 2005

The Northern Ireland Audit office today issued a report [1] on the region's Waste Management Strategy which could be the final nail in the coffin for some senior DOE managers. The last in a trilogy of damning dossiers [2] described how Northern Ireland's waste management performance 'ranks poorly' compared to other regions.

Friends of the Earth responded by demanding that some senior DOE officials clear their desks. Declan Allison, waste campaigner for the green group insisted individual civil servants be held to account for the failure to fully implement the strategy. Commenting he said:

"Once again the DOE's failure is clear for all to see. How many times must we hear about poor co-ordination, delays in implementation, targets not being met and funding being withheld before some-one takes responsibility? Whatever happened to three strikes and you're out?"

He continued:

"If those responsible won't own-up then Environment Minister, Lord Rooker, must step in and clear out the dead wood. There are many capable and committed people in the Department and it's high time they were given a chance to put right years of neglect and complacency."

The report highlights a number of important failings of the Waste Management Strategy, including:

• it has few mandatory targets and no specific targets for recycling municipal waste. Those targets which do exist will 'prove challenging' according to the Auditors [3];
• Northern Ireland is over reliant on landfill and there is a 'significant risk that NI's existing landfill capacity could be exhausted this year' [4];
• a lack of effective documenting, guidance and enforcement procedures greatly hinders the effective implementation of the strategy [5];
• co-ordination between and within the three waste groups is poor, with some councils providing a good service while others perform badly [6];
• Waste Management Plans were produce late and lack the necessary detail to make them effective [7];
  poor infrastructure and lack of a market frustrates attempts to expand recycling [8]; and
• DOE has successfully prosecuted illegal waste operators, but fines remain woefully low [9].

The report further points to the DOE's own poor record on recycling. Just 15 per cent of waste from the Department's headquarters is recycled [10]. In fact only now, nearly five years into the strategy, have targets for recycling its own rubbish been established [11].

"This report confirms what we already know - the DOE has failed, and continues to fail, to deliver on its own targets and those required under European law. It has also failed to tackle the problem of illegal waste. If it's not up to the job then we need a strong, independent Environmental Protection Agency which will be - a recurring theme throughout the trio of reports [12]."

Notes

[1] (back) Northern Ireland's Waste Management Strategy, report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, 23 June 2005
[2] (back) Waste Management Advisory Board for Northern Ireland: Waste Management Strategy Review Report, May 2004, and Waste Management Strategy in Northern Ireland, House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Sixth Report of Session 2004-05
[3] (back) Para 2.16, page 19
[4] (back) Para 5, introduction
[5] (back) Para 3.22, page 30
[6] (back) Para 3.10, page 28
[7] (back) Paras 2.22 and 2.23 page 22
[8] (back) Paras 3.11 to 3.14, pages 28 and 29
[9] (back) Paras 3.24 and 3.25, pages 31 and 32
[10] (back) Para 3.6, page 26
[11] (back) Para 3.5, page 26
[12] (back) Para 4.9, page 36

Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland
7 Donegall Street Place
BELFAST
BT1 2FN
Tel: 028 9023 3488
Fax: 028 9024 7556
Email: foe-ni@foe.co.uk.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust