WRAP in talks with Defra to develop energy from waste guidance

WRAP confirmed today (November 15) it is in talks with Defra to draw up new guidance on energy from waste, as part of a key commitment under the Government's Waste Review.


WRAP’s chief executive Dr Liz Goodwin was answering a question from the floor at the organisation’s annual conference in London when she made the announcement.

She then referred to WRAP’s director of market development, Marcus Gover, who will be leading on the talks. He told delegates that the discussions would centre around examining “the best form of guidance” to deal with the bottom of the waste hierarchy.

The Waste Review, which was published last June, stated that it would continue to “support the role of energy recovery from waste within the waste hierarchy and aim to improve understanding of this role”.

Speaking exclusively to edieWaste afterwards, Gover said that the talks were in “very early stages” and that WRAP would be looking for input from key stakeholders as part of the process. However, he indicated that more detail about the guidance might emerge as early as January 2012.

The theme of WRAP’s conference was mainly on reuse, which will be one of the programme’s key priorities going forward, along with food waste and recycling services for business.

Goodwin told delegates that WRAP was involved in “ground-breaking research” around the product lifecycle of household items and new business models which could centre on leasing, repair and maintenance services.

She said: “There are significant gains for the UK economy through reusing goods and services more, such as the long-term impact on availability of raw materials and reduced waste disposal. Our research shows that more reuse could potentially reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by almost four million tonnes per annum between now and 2020.”

She added: “We are looking at ways of increasing reuse rates through sustainable procurement and better labelling of electrical and electronic goods.”

Maxine Perella

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