The government's waste management policy is in disarray according to a committee of MPs.

The environment, food and rural affairs committee has lambasted environment secretary Margaret Beckett's department for its "timid" approach to disposing of Britain's growing piles of refuse.

Forum Response: Biffa Waste Services

Peter Jones, director of external affairs at Biffa, told ePolitix.com: "The recommendations from the environment, food and rural affairs select committee, highlighting the inadequacies of the government's approach to waste management, is yet another independent indictment on the economic failure occurring within the sector.

"This country cannot move to more sustainable waste management unless the government addresses the availability of cheaper, less sustainable exit routes for waste. The intransigence of the Treasury to take this message on board is inexplicable.

"Even when tax instruments create a level playing field - sometime around 2010 on current forecasts - the demand for sustainable technologies threatens to overwhelm equipment suppliers - most of them operating in Canada, the US and mainland Europe.

"Thousands of new facilities will need to be commissioned over the next decade as landfills fill up - leaving it to the last minute will create chaos. Ironically, around £500 million to £600 million each year is being pumped in as state aid to subsidise the achievement of short term targets - mainly on municipal waste.

"Yet there continues to be manifest resistance to the use of market instruments which would achieve these objectives far more effectively. As the targets progressively rise, how deep is Gordon Brown's subsidy pocket?

"The government is in danger of reinforcing the view yet again that it is incapable of strategic thought and direction.

"This is perverse given that the technology and a broad consensus exists between leading waste companies, non government organisations and local authorities on the broad thrust of how to tackle the looming crisis."

Forum Response: British Retail Consortium

Bill Moyes, director general of the British Retail Consortium, told ePolitix.com: "The retail sector has made significant investment in the recovery and recycling of packaging waste and the BRC has made a commitment to promoting sustainable waste management policies.

"Unlike the government our aspirations have been backed by action.

"We have raised retail awareness of the issue through projects such as the Envirowise Supply Chain Initiative and the environmental guide for small retailers - projects that have had a real impact on reducing waste.

"Working with the Rethink Rubbish campaign, we have helped address the problem of consumer awareness of the issue.

"We have called persistently for the government to play its part in public education on reducing waste.

"Without long-term planning and a comprehensive public education strategy the government will fail to change consumer attitudes and fail to meet its own waste reduction targets."

Forum Response: Environmental Services Association

Dirk Hazell, chief executive of the ESA, said: "Together with the recent helpful report from the environmental audit committee, this is a text book example of the all-party select committee system proving itself in analytical parliamentary scrutiny where the executive is, for whatever reason, not yet succeeding in delivery. We are also immensely appreciative of the interest the committee demonstrated in our evidence.

"We strongly agree with the overwhelming majority of the committee's report. I would only offer two minor caveats.

"We would formulate our own position on the community sector in a more qualified way. Ultimately, the best value and most effective and enduring recycling will be provided by ESA's private sector members.

"We would have preferred a clearer distinction between variable and direct charging. Variable charging may well be the long term solution for the UK but it does provide incentives to fly-tip or to put waste in other people's bins, it does raise the issue of regression and the committee's acceptance of LGA's caveat about the exclusively weight based approach taken by the government is consistent with our advice that in terms of a national model - as opposed to pilot schemes - it may be too early to define the criterion on which the variability of charging is based.

"We have therefore recommended that at this stage of the evolution of waste management in the UK, direct charging (even though it is not such a pure application of the 'producer pays' principle) would be a more appropriate model to pilot with a view to general use and we are very disappointed that there now appears to be no realistic prospect of this happening in the current parliament.

"Set against that, however, we really do appreciate the pertinent and fair-minded approach the committee has taken to its report. The committee's apt, incisive and relevant analysis of the machinery and effectiveness to date of the official process is immensely heartening to anyone who really cares about delivering sustainable waste management for the UK."

Forum Response: Construction Products Association

Rita Singh, policy development executive of the Construction Products Association, told ePolitix.com: "The publication of another committee report criticising the government's action to date confirms many of the concerns increasingly being raised by industry.

"Waste, its definition and how the associated regulations are implemented, is one of the biggest issues facing industry in its operations. Lack of clear guidance and inconsistency in approach by regulators have set to cause confusion in dealing with waste sustainably.

"The report points out that DEFRA's 'lack of capacity, vision, sense of urgency and political will' have hindered industry in developing innovative means and in employing processes to reduce waste arisings that ultimately would help to meet government targets to manage waste sustainably.

"We urge government to review its waste policy and its implementation as a matter of urgency and in particular its definition of waste."