The UK resources and waste management industry has today (30 June) committed to delivering a ‘stretching’ net zero emissions target, a decade ahead of the Government’s deadline, in a boost to the UK’s decarbonisation agenda.
The UK resources and waste management industry has reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 46% since 1990.
To go ‘further and faster’ and deliver its 2040 target, members of the Environmental Services Association (ESA), which is the trade body representing the UK’s resource and waste management industry, will invest £10bn of ‘new money’ in recycling infrastructure with an aim of driving up recycling rates and cutting waste; and increasing capture of methane emissions, the most potent form, by 85% from landfill by 2030.
Outlined in its report, A Net Zero greenhouse gas emission strategy for the recycling and waste management sector, ESA members – which includes companies Virdior, Veolia, SUEZ and Biffa – have also set a target to decarbonise non-recyclable waste treatment by diverting organic waste from landfill to recycling and energy production by 2030 and moving removing plastics from energy recovery facilities; and roll out carbon capture technology across our energy from waste facilities by 2040 ‘where feasible’.
Our members have committed to an ambitious target and we have developed a clear and detailed plan to get there. This is an urgent and important task for the UK which we are excited, willing and able to invest behind.
The industry will also commit to buying only ‘zero emissions’ collection vehicles from 2030, phasing out petrol and diesel entirely by 2040, as well as move vehicle and all on-site fuel use to zero emissions sources by 2040, so that refuse collection vehicles across the country will be powered by sustainable sources such as electric or biofuel rather than diesel.
Responding to the targets, George Eustice MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said the ESA’s commitment is ‘absolutely vital’ in helping the UK achieve its target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, building a net zero economy and leaving the environment in a better state for future generations.
He said: “The recycling and waste management sectors are key to the success of our reforms, from creating deposit return schemes for drinks containers to encouraging more recyclable packaging.
“This commitment will help the nation transform the way we deal with waste and reduce our emissions.”
Government support
The ESA’s Board will be responsible for monitoring performance against the targets set and will review and report on progress against this strategy annually, and the strategy itself every five years, to ensure that it remains aligned with policy and market shifts.
A full GHG review for the sector will be conducted every two years and will be published in the ESA’s Annual Report, baselined against the first sector-wide emissions review conducted this year by Ricardo.
In addition to delivery from the ESA and its members, success will also require government support on energy decarbonisation and carbon capture to ensure maximum benefit for the UK.
The ESA will continue to work in close partnership with government on two critical policy areas. The first is the regulatory and policy context around carbon capture technology, which helps reduce emissions from non-recyclable waste and removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The second is around decarbonisation of industrial vehicles such as collection wagons through the progressive electrification and deployment of renewable and alternative fuels.
Green jobs and investment
Gavin Graveson, Chairman of the Environmental Services Association, said: “Our sector has made tremendous and rapid progress on decarbonisation but the climate crisis continues to accelerate and our sector is determined to embrace the challenge by doing more to ensure we hit net zero.
“Our report also shows that done right, decarbonisation can deliver green jobs and investment right across the UK.”
Jacob Hayler, Executive Director of the ESA, said: “Our members have committed to an ambitious target and we have developed a clear and detailed plan to get there. This is an urgent and important task for the UK which we are excited, willing and able to invest behind.
CIWM stands shoulder to shoulder with ESA on this critical journey towards net zero and will be launching its own strategy later this year…
“Critical to our success is a continuing constrictive partnership with Government to ensure the policy framework around decarbonisation continues to drive the right decisions which will ensure we can accelerate the UK’s net zero ambition.”
CIWM President, Dr Adam Read, applauded the ‘ambitious vision’, saying it is about much more than measuring direct emissions from recycling and waste treatment activities, it is about the sector’s role in moving waste up the waste hierarchy and ‘putting valuable resources to work’; a role that resulted in 50 million tonnes of avoided CO2 emissions across the economy in 2018.
He said: “It is about the expertise the sector can bring to bear as the policy focus shifts from dealing with waste as an end-of-pipe problem to designing it out at the concept stage. And it is about the enabling role it plays in influencing and helping consumers and companies to move away from wasteful behaviour.
“CIWM stands shoulder to shoulder with ESA on this critical journey towards net zero and will be launching its own strategy later this year which will both be aligned to ESA’s vision and will recognise the role that CIWM, as the sector’s professional body, can play in supporting the behaviours, skills and knowledge that will be needed to drive positive change.”
