Speech by Joan Ruddock MP to the Environment Agency's East End Regeneration Reception, London - 6 December 2007
I have had a long interest in waste, not least because when I was first elected one of my Residents Associations came to me and said “you’ve got to do something, you’ve got to do something”. It was extraordinary; 10,000 tonnes of construction waste dumped on the next estate. And that, of course, was from the construction of the Docklands. Well, I decided I had to do something and, as you know, I was able to bring the first fly-tipping Bill to Parliament, which is now law.
It’s great to be here and to see first hand the difference your hard work has made to the lives of people in the East End.
The work you are showcasing today provides everyone with a timely reminder of what can be achieved with a little imagination, a bit of application and a lot of hard work.
Although today signals the end of BREW’s campaign in the area I know it won’t signal the end of your fight to crackdown on waste crime.
You can all rest assured this issue will certainly remain a priority for my department. It is a key part of our waste strategy that was published back in May.
Not only does the strategy lay out how we want to tackle fly-tipping - it also sets out our vision for reusing waste, for increasing recycling and for diverting waste away from landfill. But above all it sets out how we want to stop waste being generated in the first place.
And we’ve already started making changes. Back in 2005 we introduced the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act to provide additional powers to clamp down on fly tipping. The measures we introduced included fixed penalty notices, increased fines for offenders, and powers to recover costs on conviction. And of course on conviction, offenders may also forfeit their vehicles.
As the Hampton Review recommended, we gave these powers to Local Authorities and the Environment Agency to allow them to focus their efforts on those areas with the worst fly-tipping problems.
As a result they now have the flexibility to decide when and how to use the powers made available to them to ensure legitimate businesses are not unfairly penalised through things like unnecessary inspections and checks.
As part of our Strategy on Illegal Waste Activity, we are working on developing measures to tackle the different causes of illegal waste disposal. The strategy will also look to deal with the different types of offenders involved, and at the same time tackle the various issues surrounding each type of waste.
For example we’re tightening up the controls for the handling, transfer, and transport of waste. And we’re currently drafting Regulations, in line with that review of the controls, to give Local Authorities and the Environment Agency more effective powers to seize vehicles involved in fly-tipping.
Turning to our location today, we are keen to place sustainability at the heart of our ambitions for the Thames Gateway project area. We really want the Gateway to be a great example of innovative environmental technologies and interventions. We and our partners are working to ensure a low carbon and water neutral development zone.
We have led a working group to set up challenging targets for construction waste in the Gateway. These will need to reflect the national targets proposed in our Waste Strategy and BERR’s Sustainable Construction Strategy. The group’s work has been reported in the recent publication of the Thames Gateway Delivery Plan. We will be working with others to determine whether more ambitious targets can be delivered to make the Gateway an exemplar of sustainability.
It is important that we all work together to ensure that developments like the Olympics site and the Thames Gateway are an example of what handling waste responsibly means.
As you will no doubt have heard already today, the Olympics is set to be the most ‘Sustainable Olympics’ to date and we are setting the standard for successive games to follow.
Government is committed to making our Games the greenest in the history of the Olympic movement. We have set our sights high and really want this to be a shining example of what can be achieved. We are committed to reducing carbon from energy usage by 50% against business as usual; we will create over 110 hectares of quality open green space; we are reducing potable water usage by 40%; all timber used will be sustainable and legal; and all procurement will be sustainable. The Olympic family really does have a very wide ranging and ambitious plan, which is genuinely exciting and inspiring and shows what we can do.
London 2012 is already exceeding its target of 90 per cent recycling and re-use of demolition waste - with levels last April reaching 95%. It is important to note that our aim is to ensure that no waste produced during the Games will be sent to landfill. This is exceptional, and we want to see more developments following this lead.
On top of its immediate achievements, London 2012 will also act as a catalyst for the development of new waste processing infrastructure in East London.
We are bringing forward regulations to make site waste management plans a legal requirement for all future construction projects from April next year. These will help to make sure that we divert a lot more construction and demolition waste from fly-tipping incidents and raise levels of efficiency in the construction sector. The types and quantities of waste produced on construction sites will need to be considered and planned for at the outset. This will help identify more opportunities for reuse, recycling and recovery of waste.
Site waste management plans will also make sure businesses comply with existing waste management rules. We want to develop the right tools – including activities like running workshops in conjunction with our delivery bodies to encourage a proactive approach. The financial, environmental and social benefits associated with better management and planning of on site waste should help to make this measure a largely self-regulating one. And will show industry the cost saving benefits of complying with our rules.
The Environment Agency and Local Authorities work hard to ensure illegal waste activity is dealt with and prevented where possible. The people from the Agency working on waste crime in the Thames Gateway have a important role in ensuring those who do not wish to comply are held to account.
The Agency’s Waste Crime Campaigns have done some really innovative work in this area, I especially like the ‘butty vans’ which targeted the very hard to reach tradeers. In exchange for a free bacon butty they were given all the information they needed to help them deal with their waste responsibly.
Its vital we keep the pressure on those who could be involved in waste crime and try to divert them from it. We need to continue to work together to achieve real reductions and ensure everyone involved is aware of what they must do.
Again I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in the BREW campaigns. You’ve really have done an amazing job.
Thank you
Page published: 6 December 2007