Archived press release
Go to our press releases area for our current press releases.
Government waste strategy launched
13 December 1995
Friends of the Earth are highly critical of the Government's latest White Paper - UK Waste Management Strategy "Making Waste Work" [1] - launched today by Environment Secretary John Gummer. The paper fails to set or recommend statutory targets for waste reduction or recycling and FOE also argue that the paper even fails to address the UK's commitments to waste reduction under current EU legislation [2]. Friends of the Earth condemned the White Paper for promoting incineration with energy recovery to the same level of priority as waste re-use and recycling.
Alan Watson, Senior Industry & Pollution Campaigner, said today:
"This has been a wasted opportunity to address the urgent problems of waste. Whilst the Government has started to acknowledge the extent of the problem, the lack of waste reduction targets and any statutory backing means that their initiatives are likely to fail to meet our existing European commitments."
Notes for Editors:
1. "Making Waste Work" - A Strategy for Sustainable Waste Management in England and Wales. Published 12th December 1995 by the Department of the Environment and the Welsh Office. The White Paper sets a non-statutory target for reducing the quantity of waste going to landfill and for increasing the amount of waste to be recycled or incinerated. However, no target has been set for re-using wastes and the establishment of a target for minimising waste production at source has been delayed until 1998. 2. The Fifth EU Action Plan on the Environment requires a reduction in waste production to 300kg per capita. Current UK household waste production is around 350 kg per capita.
If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.
Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Sep 2008
