The Recycling Association

Heritage House, Vicar Lane, Daventry, NN11 4GD

Tel: +44 (0) 1327 703223 Fax: +44 (0) 1327 300612

Email: simon.ellin@iwppa.co.uk

Website:www.therecyclingassociation.com

Press Release 11 January 2018 

Government's 25-year Green Plan is a good start but needs substance

The Recycling Association has welcomed the launch of the Government's 25-year Environment Plan* but would like to be assured that this will be backed up by supportive policies to ensure it is delivered.

"When it comes to the recycling, resources and waste elements of this plan, we've been talking about driving improvements for many years," said The Recycling Association's chief executive, Simon Ellin.

"It's good that there now appears to be an understanding of the challenges and a desire to tackle them. But having a vision will not suffice. We need real and positive momentum to drive change.

"For this reason, we will continue to put pressure on the complete recycling supply chain to look for new solutions and do things differently. And that includes government."

Simon Ellin applauded the commitment in the Prime Minister's speech to fund research and development into new materials and recycling innovations. He also pointed to the detail within the plan which shows that Government has taken on board some of the challenges faced by the recycling sector.

"We are encouraged to see the following passage in the plan:

We are committed to supporting comprehensive and frequent waste and recycling collections which protect local amenity and ensure that products are recycled as much as possible, returning high quality materials back to the economy.

This will help stimulate internal UK markets and support strong secondary materials markets as well as exports abroad.

"The reference to quality here is critical, as is the stimulation of UK markets. It is essential that the 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy reflects these aspects," he said.

"This is true for all materials, not just plastics. Putting quality at the heart of the supply chain will provide clarity in terms of packaging design, collections infrastructure, recycling solutions and ultimately secondary materials markets.

"We're ready for those discussions and the resulting actions now."

For more information, contact: The Recycling Association chief executive Simon Ellin on 07970 549 536 or Adrienne Robins at Hanicke Robins Sanderson on 07855 643094 or Paul Sanderson at Hanicke Robins Sanderson on 0774 778 5980

* The Government's 25-year Environment Plan is here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/673203/25-year-environment-plan.pdf