North East, UK - Waste Management and Biomass News July 2021 Compiled by 1st Choice Waste

Waste management and biomass fuels are never far from the UK news. This month, how the UK loses £13M in essential resources and the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association declaration was submitted to the Prime Minister.

Local authorities ‘need clarity’ over the net-zero role

The central government has not provided local authorities with clarity about their roles in achieving net-zero by 2050, according to the government’s spending watchdog and reported by James Langley of “Lets Recycle”

A report published by the National Audit Office (NAO) on 16 July considers how effectively central government and local authorities in England are collaborating on net zero.

The NAO says England’s 333 principal local authorities and 10 combined authorities, alongside the Greater London Authority, have an “essential part” to play in decarbonising sectors such as waste and recycling because of their powers and responsibilities.

The damning report concludes there are “serious weaknesses” in the central government’s approach to working with local authorities on decarbonisation, and its approach to funding their net-zero work is “piecemeal”.

In June 2019, the UK government passed legislation committing it to achieve ‘net zero’ greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “There are serious weaknesses in government’s approach to working with local authorities on net zero, stemming from a lack of clarity over roles and responsibilities and piecemeal funding. This hampers local authorities’ ability to plan effectively for the long term, build skills and capacity, and prioritise effort.

“Government’s efforts to improve its approach to the local action on net-zero have been understandably slowed by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there is now great urgency to make progress.”

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Waste

Most of the greenhouse gas impact from waste is from methane from the decomposition of biodegradable waste in landfills, the NAO’s report suggests. Reducing waste and increasing recycling is key to cutting this source of emissions.

Using electric or hydrogen-fuelled vehicles can also help reduce emissions from waste collections, the NAO says.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is currently reviewing the new burdens that its planned waste reforms to support decarbonisation will place on local authorities and how these will be funded, the NAO says.

Recommendations

The NAO’s report concluded there were “serious weaknesses” in the central government’s approach to working with local authorities on decarbonisation stemming from a lack of clarity over local authorities’ overall roles, piecemeal funding, and “diffuse accountabilities”.

This, the NAO says, hampers local authorities’ ability to plan effectively for the long-term, build skills and capacity, and prioritise effort.

To address these issues, the report puts forward a series of recommendations. The first is that the main departments that engage with local authorities on net zero should establish a “clear lead” in central government for developing the way departments work with local authorities.

Read our full news update here: 1stchoicewastegroup.co.uk/waste-management-biomass-news-july-2021/