Environment minister Michael Meacher has blamed the European Commission for Britain's fridge mountain after the government itself came under fire from a committee of MPs.

In a report published on Thursday, the Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee said the government had been given ample warning of the difficulties that would be caused by new EU waste regulations.

Forum Response: British Retail Consortium

Bill Moyes, director general of the British Retail Consortium, told ePolitix.com: "The report clearly endorses the need for better and earlier consultation with industry so that high and unnecessary costs and inconvenience to customers such as those created in this debacle, can be avoided in the future.

"Environmental legislation should aim to protect the environment, not create a situation where its implementation actually jeopardises it.

"We can only hope that the government has learnt lessons from its mishandling of the fridge situation ahead of implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. If they try to proceed without an adequate infrastructure of both systems and technology in place, we could see a re-run of the problems already experienced on a mammoth scale."

Forum Response: Biffa

Peter Jones, director of external relations at Biffa, told ePolitix.com: "If this country continues to manage the incorporation of environmentally sensible European directives in the same way we managed the fridges issue then look out for fireworks.

"The public will think that this government, its regulators and the waste industry are buffoons. It is incumbant on all these parties - including those who manufacture and supply such products - to manage the transition to a sustainable economy in ways which mitigate the inflationary risks as well as offering an opportunity to UK PLC to take the lead in the forthcoming inspired industrial revolution".