Government gives people the chance to share views on cutting waste and improving recycling.
In a press release, the government has launched a consultation on a new Waste Prevention Programme for England, which it says “aims to help businesses and householders recognise the savings they can make by cutting waste and passing on items they no longer use”.
The consultation, open to “consumers, businesses and councils”, aims to help “cut waste thrown away, save money and protect the environment”, with the government noting that “preventing waste from being produced in the first place is not only good for the environment, but for the economy and household budgets too”, with businesses able to save £17 billion ($26 billion/€19.5 billion) a year “by “taking simple steps to produce less waste”.
The steps can include “reusing products”, and can “help create jobs”, with the seven-week consultation (closing on 23 September) coming on the back of the government’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign and the Courtauld Commitment, which helps companies “reduce the amount of packaging they use”.
The government’s release added that the consultation would “help businesses and local authorities recognise the savings to be made by cutting waste and managing resources better”, as well as “make it easier for people to find out how to reduce waste and pass on items they no longer use”, and “ensure products are designed to last longer, contain less hazardous parts, and reduce the environmental impact of the waste they create”.
The government’s Resource Management Minister, Lord de Mauley, said:“Reducing waste is everyone’s responsibility. What we have set out in this programme will help businesses save money, help people cut back on waste and pass on items that they would otherwise throw away. This consultation is an opportunity to comment on our suggestions on how this can be achieved so that we can protect the environment and help boost the economy.”
The results of the consultation will also feed into the EU Waste Framework Directive, which has given EU states until December 2013 to “report how they plan to prevent waste”.