Our assessment of the Resources and Waste Strategy for England

After the UK leaves the European Union, Defra will become directly responsible for resources and waste policy for the first time in decades. As our relationship with natural resource consumption comes to the fore, this is a real opportunity to design a circular system which reduces environmental pressure whilst boosting economic growth. Following the government’s commitment to make the UK “a world leader in terms of competitiveness, resource productivity and resource efficiency”, we published our “Priorities for an Effective Resources and Waste Strategy” in October 2018.

“Our Waste, Our Resources: A Strategy for England”, published in December 2018, set out a long-term strategy to deliver a range of outcomes which would put England’s economy on a more circular footing.

The Strategy is ambitious, wide-ranging and strategic. However, all too often the detail of measures which would have a real impact on moving the UK towards a more circular economy is severely lacking. The government must maintain momentum and support their ambitions with sufficient means and incentivisation. We welcome the recently published consultations from Defra and HM Treasury which should fill in some of the missing detail, and we’ll be analysing and responding to them over the coming weeks.