WRAP calls for curb on EfW growth
WRAP chief executive Liz Goodwin told Food Manufacture she agreed that EfW had a role to play as one of a range of solutions for packaging waste. "But there are a lot of plants in development, and there's a huge debate going on about this," she said. "I don't think this can be left up to the market. Government does have a role to play in sending out the right signals."
Speakers including Marks & Spencer (M&S) head of sustainable business Mike Barry joined Goodwin at WRAP's annual conference last month. Much of the discussion was about the prospects for if not the necessity of a circular economy or 'resource efficiency loop'.
'Downward pressure'
Talking about the need for a radical approach to resources, Barry said: "The canary in the coalmine is cost. Despite the downturn, there has been no downward pressure on cost. Some heat has come out recently, but not much."
China has already embraced the idea of circularity in its economic planning, said Goodwin. "So the question is as much about how we compete in a circular economy as it is about how we move to one."
During the debate, Confederation of Paper Industries director general David Workman raised the issue of EfW, referring to new and planned plants in Yorkshire.
"Are we going to get to the stage of having huge overcapacity in EfW?" he asked. "This seems to pose a potential threat to the idea of a circular economy."
Fighting for resources
Barry responded: "In the future, we're going to hit a bump where different groups are fighting for the same resources. I want us to go into that battle with our eyes open. At the moment, they're not."
WRAP's Goodwin said: "We mustn't let EfW capacity become so large that we can't recycle as much as we want to."
But both speakers agreed that local authorities have the right to shape their own waste strategies. On the topic of EfW, Goodwin did not go beyond the idea of central government "guidance" to local decision-makers.
