Rubbish to resource: why we need to invest £8billion in our waste infrastructure

6 September 2011

On Tuesday 6th September, the Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will launch a parliamentary report explaining how and why the UK needs to invest £billions in its waste infrastructure over the next decade.

The report, "Rubbish to Resource: Financing New Waste Infrastructure" is the result of a seven month parliamentary inquiry by the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group (APSRG), and suggests that £8 billion of investment will be needed by 2020 to avoid crippling landfill taxes, EU fines and a waste of a valuable resource.

Jamie Reed MP, Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "Rubbish is a resource; a resource we can’t afford to squander by burying in the ground. More infrastructure is needed to deal with our waste, not only so we can use this valuable source of energy and materials, but also, so that we avoid paying millions of pounds in landfill tax and EU fines. The Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group’s report highlights how the UK can overcome the barriers currently preventing such investment".

Waste going to landfill is now costing the country. The 2020 EU Landfill Directive targets mean that the UK will be fined heavily unless we start building infrastructure now. In addition, the standard rate of landfill tax is set to rise by £8 per annum, to £80 by 2014/15. The Review of Waste Policy 2011 estimates that despite this being a key driver to reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill, a quarter of household and commercial & industrial waste is still projected to end up in a landfill. Therefore, it is imperative to build infrastructure to treat this waste.

Moreover, with a total market value of £50-70bn, the UK resource efficiency sector presents a key opportunity for investment.

But currently, there are numerous barriers to such investment, including a reduction in public spending, a fall in bank lending and inherent waste infrastructure project risks.

Dr Alan Whitehead MP, Chair of the APSRG's inquiry: "Without confronting and overcoming these significant barriers it is highly unlikely that the necessary infrastructure capacity will be built. As a result, in a few years we could be facing a real crisis in Britain’s capacity to deal with its waste stream. Urgent action is therefore required".

The report makes recommendations as to how central government, local authorities, the waste industry and the finance community can work together to make investment in waste infrastructure work in everyone’s interest.

These range from asking government to establish a single, leading committee on the issue of waste, to encouraging stronger links between the private waste sector and real estate investors. In particular, the report highlights the potential role of the Green Investment Bank in providing greater certainty for investors.

For more information about the full set of recommendations made within "Rubbish to Resource: Financing New Waste Infrastructure", please get in touch.

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