The union manifesto says nothing about recycling

Daniel Bosley and Waqas Qureshi

Labor released its manifesto ahead of the July 4 election, making little reference to recycling or EPR changes affecting packaging.

Beyond the commitment to reduce waste by moving to a circular economy, the most interesting issue for the sector will probably be the expansion of decentralization towards local authorities.

In the ‘Accelerating to Net Zero’ section of the manifesto, Labor said it would “ensure that the institutional framework for policy-making reflects our commitments to achieving net zero and meeting our carbon budgets” .

“Local government faces serious financial challenges due to the Conservatives’ economic mismanagement which has caused interest rates to skyrocket, as well as their failures on public services,” the statement reads. manifest.

“To provide greater stability, a Labor government will provide councils with multi-year funding agreements and end unnecessary tenders,” the document continues, without going into further detail.

The lack of competition in the market for municipal waste management services, with a large number of contracts up for renewal, is a cause for concern as many municipalities face serious financial problems. Stalled reforms to the resources and waste sectors – partly blamed on these problems – were not mentioned among Labor’s election promises.

While the Liberal Democrats and Greens provided more details on their circular economy plans, the Conservatives pledged to stop new waste-to-energy plants, sparking concerns in the industry over to the legality of this plan.

Shadow environment minister Ruth Jones has accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of using recycling as a “political football”, promising to make the circular economy “a real priority”, while Secretary Environment shadow Steve Reed said the party would learn from the success of recycling in Wales.

Despite Wales consistently ranking among the top countries in the world for recycling, Plaid Cymru’s manifesto also makes no reference to recycling.