The report estimates that an uplift of 10 billion Euro to the UK’s economy by 2030 could be realised if the Government adopts an ambitions path of policy and legislative measures aimed and integrating resource conservation into its industrial strategy – which in turn would underpin significant investments in recycling and re-use activities, as well as generate improved profits for companies cutting down on their raw material usage.
The report focuses on the importance of creating a coherent strategy and policies to allow for the greater recycling, re-use and repair of primary materials used, in particular, within the textiles, furniture, and electrical and electronic equipment sectors. The greatest level of economic uplift would arise from a positive transition towards a 70 per cent recycling level achieved across the UK by 2030, which in turn would also result in significant reductions in UK carbon emissions, falls of up to four million tonnes in green-house gas emissions per year – 27 million tonnes by 2030 – equivalent to 3.4 per cent of the UK’s 1990 emissions.
„It is time for a home-grown, forward-looking strategic framework for the UK waste and resource management industry and our report, the first of its kind since the vote on Brexit, should provide the newly created Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy with a way forward to capture some of the 9 billion pounds of value that can be unlocked and put back into the UK domestic economy“, David Palmer-Jones, CEO of Suez UK said.
„Out sector currently recovers about 15 billion pounds worth of value from waste, in the form of secondary materials and energy, but because of a disjoint between waste policy and industrial policy, some 50 per cent of recycles and 90 per cent of waste derived fuel is exported to overseas markets, even though the US is a net importer of primary raw materials and of energy. Re-shoring and re-integrating these streams back into the UK economy will not only help future-proof the UK against resource supply risks, but also create employment in new waste-related activities.
