Local Government is committed to working with the new Welsh Government to achieve:
- Continued availability and best use of the Sustainable Waste Management Grant with the possibility in the future of unhypothecation once authorities have clear and costed delivery plans;
- Action on producer responsibilities (e.g. requirements for reduced packaging) in pursuit of waste minimisation goals with a new legislative requirement on business to segregate waste before it enters the municipal waste stream;
- Enhanced community engagement – an ever more fully developed partnership between government and its citizens in eliminating waste;
- Implementation of the Municipal Waste Sector Plan which sets out the desired outcomes and allows local authorities to determine the means to achieve the delivery; and
- Delivery and improvement on our carbon emissions reduction target.
Background:
As we face the challenges of the new era we must recognise that making the best use of our resources, acting sustainably, is an essential and integral part of our strategies for surmounting the fiscal and economic crisis.
We simply cannot afford to waste and misuse our scarce energy resources. To do so increases the costs of production and places a major drag on economic activity. By contributing to climate change our over consumption of energy again undermines our economy and well being.
The WLGA, through its Sustainable Development Framework, has been working to raise awareness amongst local authorities about steps they need to be taking to recognise, mitigate and over time reverse carbon dependent operations and increase their resilience. An innovative pilot project with four authorities is also looking at adaptation measures that councils can take to account for changes in climate which are already forecast to affect us in coming years as a result of past excesses. This approach will need to be rolled out to all local authorities as part of the reporting duty being proposed by the Welsh Government.
The management of waste is essentially a matter of resource efficiency. We need to make better use of resources and that means working to eliminate all forms of waste. Much of what we have been putting into landfill over the years is the result of ‘over consumption’ and it actually includes valuable resources such as metals, textiles, glass, plastic and paper. Many of the products were perfectly good (just no longer wanted) or could have been re-used or recycled at much lower cost (economically and to the environment) than by using virgin materials. Similarly, food that has ended up as waste is usually the result of buying/using more than was needed. Instead of being land filled, however, it can be treated to produce a compost material that can put nutrients back into the soil.
Working together local government and the Welsh Government have made very substantial progress in the recent past to manage waste better. Recycling rates have improved dramatically. Major collaborative procurements are in hand for facilities to convert food waste to compost and to convert residual waste into energy. These procurements are among the largest undertaken in Wales. They are a testament to the ability of local authorities to work together and in partnership with the private sector and the Welsh Government.
Welsh local government has worked closely with the Welsh Government to provide greater certainty in relation to policy objectives, technologies and timescales. Considerable progress has been made. The Welsh Government has announced clear targets for recycling and composting with dates attached. Following the passing of the Waste (Wales) Measure these targets are now statutory. Along with the recently published Municipal Sector Plan the Welsh Government has outlined its blueprint against which council waste services will be assessed. Extra funding was allocated in 2010/11 and in large part this extra funding has survived the cuts. The WLGA and the Welsh Government have continued to work with Local Partnerships to oversee the affordability of the programme and progress procurement through collaborations of local authorities. A collaborative change programme is currently being developed jointly to support authorities in putting together and implementing costed plans to achieve the targets in an acceptable, sustainable way. All of these issues have been overseen by a Ministerial Programme Board.
Making the best of resources, managing waste, requires a full and effective partnership with citizens and communities. We are producing less waste and recycle more because local authorities are engaging with citizens to share responsibility and alter life styles. There is no better case for keeping government local than the evidence of what can be achieved through this partnership between a council and its citizens.