Composting Association Commend Strategy

The Waste Strategy for England 2007 has found approval among many organisations within the third sector. One such organisation is the Composting Association, the UK's leading membership group for the composting and biological waste treatment industries. Jane Gilbert, Chief Executive of the Composting Association, said: "We welcome the publication of the Government's Waste Strategy. We feel that the measures it contains will go a long way towards encouraging development of the composting and biological waste treatment industries."

The Composting Association are particularly pleased with the increased targets for composting and recycling, saying they welcome any initiatives to reduce the amount of untreated waste sent to landfill sites. The strategy also backs the use of anaerobic digestion. "This is an area in which many of our members are already working," said Jane Gilbert. "They have the necessary expertise in biowaste treatment to take this forward and to make a really positive contribution to the environment, the economy and to society.

"With the publication of this Strategy and the recent Energy White Paper which supported anaerobic digestion," she continued, "it looks like the Government now shares the commitment of our members to the sustainable management of biodegradable resources.

"However, we are still concerned that the waste infrastructure lags behind and that this country does not have enough facilities in place to meet the targets set by the Government for 2010. We would call on the Government to re-examine the planning process and to facilitate the development of more waste treatment facilities."