The European Parliament today backed a report on reducing food waste, calling for a coordinated policy response and new binding targets [1].

Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, wrote a letter to the Evening Standard in response:

“The average Londoner throws away £200 of food a year — the equivalent of every one in five bags of shopping bought. This could have been used to feed the nine per cent of children in London who sometimes go to bed hungry.

Sadly, this is not only an issue in London. Across the EU we waste about 88 million tonnes of food every year. On Tuesday, cross-party MEPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking action, calling on the European Commission to introduce a new binding target to cut food waste by 50 per cent by 2030, which should also include the pressures in the supply chain. The resolution also calls for improved education on food waste and a law that would require member states to exempt food donations from VAT.

Such changes would make a vast difference to Londoners. The Evening Standard’s London Food Month is the perfect time to seize on this momentum and call on UK authorities to set and implement their own targets to reduce food waste.”

Click here to read the letter on the Evening Standard website.

[1] https://www.greens-efa.eu/en/article/press/european-parliament-demands-greater-ambition/

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This week in the European Parliament, MEPs are voting on plans to boost recycling rates in the European Union.

The European Commission’s proposal is that by 2030 65% of household waste across the EU would be recycled or reused. Currently Germany is the only EU country meeting this target.[1]

This is particularly pertinent to Britain given that for the first time ever recycling rates dropped in England from 44.8% in 2014 to 43.9% in 2015. Although Wales and Scotland are ahead with their recycling rates (particularly Wales, where 61% of household waste is recycled), due to England’s size it accounts for so much of the waste that the UK as a whole is almost guaranteed to miss the EU target of recycling at least 50% of its household waste by 2020.

Speaking ahead of the debate in Strasbourg Jean emphasised the need for concrete preventative action to help increase recycling rates “In my constituency of London we have massive variation in terms of recycling and reusing, from 17.10% in Lewisham, to 54% in Bexley.[2] We need to close this gap and lift recycling rates across London, going backwards should not be an option.

Austerity measures brought in by this government have hit local councils hard so that the improvement to infrastructure and more importantly the ability to communicate with householders about the value and benefits of recycling have not been possible. The massive budget cut to WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme)– the government’s main body tasked with cutting waste and driving up recycling – from £37.7m in 2011 to £17.9m in 2014, has also had a negative impact.”

The Greens in the European Parliament are calling for binding reduction targets for food waste and marine litter, improved collection of waste materials, stronger recycling targets and an end to incineration of recyclable or compostable waste.

“Taken together, these measures can both help the EU meet its climate commitments and boost national economies and employment. Given the current British Government pledged they would be the first to leave the environment in a better state than they found it[3], I call on it to take the very urgent and necessary steps to do just that so that my constituents and the country as a whole can leave a better city, country and planet for future generations.”

ENDS

[1] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20170306STO65256/waste-management-meps-to-vote-on-plans-to-boost-recycling-rates

[2] http://laportal.wrap.org.uk/LWARBKeyData.aspx

[3] http://www.fwi.co.uk/news/farmers-must-do-more-for-environment-says-defra-secretary.htm

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UK Green MEPs – Jean Lambert, Molly Scott Cato, Keith Taylor press for ambitious proposals to reduce resource use and create green jobs in a circular economy

Building a circular economy for the European Union is both necessary and overdue. A circular economy will re-align economic activity with environmental limits. In particular, economic activity must no longer be linked to resource consumption. For these reasons, the UK’s 3 Green MEPs have submitted a response to the European Commission’s Public Consultation on the Circular Economy. The consultation closes today but you can read the main section of the MEPs submission here

 
Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London said:

‘The EU’s circular economy plans could create millions of jobs and cut costs for business whilst reducing waste and pollution. We are used to hearing about cuts and efficiency savings, but for once these are the right cuts and the right efficiency savings. These EU plans could mean less waste and more re-use. We could see products being designed to work better, last longer and be easier to repair, and an end to the use of toxic materials. It’s called a circular economy because we are talking about turning yesterday’s waste into tomorrow’s valuable resources.

 
‘But for this to work, the EU plans must include binding targets to reduce commercial, industrial and food waste, and to recycle more, especially packaging. Crucially, we also need to measure and increase resource efficiency. Along with fellow Green MEPs I am responding to the Commission consultation to press for an ambitious proposal which will reduce our use of resources and create the green jobs and skills we urgently need.’

This fundamental shift in economic thinking and policy is essential for the long-term prosperity and success of the EU. The Commission needs to make sure that the beneficial potential of the circular economy model is fully realised. This is necessary so that the EU economy becomes resource-efficient, environmentally sustainable, and delivers the huge potential for green jobs and skills.
Moving to a circular economy will only be achievable with far-reaching legislation and legally binding targets. This should include specific waste reduction and resource efficiency targets, and an explicit commitment to becoming a zero waste EU.

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The European Parliament’s Environment committee adopted a report on the ‘circular economy‘ today. The European Commission had withdrawn its initial legislative proposal in a move that was rightly criticised by the Parliament, Environment ministers and civil society. This new report calls on the Commission to draft a new and ambitious proposal.

Jean, who is writing a report about the job creation potential of the green economy said:

‘Today’s vote will mean that the Commission can be in no doubt. The report was supported by a strong, cross-party coalition that wants the bar set high on this important issue by the end of the year.’

The report calls for the introduction of a binding resource-efficiency target based on reducing resource use by 30% by 2030, compared to 2014, along with a binding food waste reduction target of 30%. At the latest, the EU should be producing fully sustainably by 2050.

The report also demands tangible measures to address the following:

• planned obsolescence, and to improve consumer protection around production defects;
• improve products’ durability, reusability and recyclability; and
• ban toxic chemicals from the production line to encourage development of non-polluting production loops

The Commission’s own calculations show that if ambitious enough,  a circular economy package could lead to the creation of over half a million new jobs in the EU, approximately €600bn savings through more efficient use of resources and a 2-4% decrease in CO2 emissions.

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MEPs agreed that new rules proposed by the European Commission didn’t go far enough, and called for mandatory targets to reduce bag use by 50% in three years and 80% over five, as well as requiring that shoppers pay for their bags.

London’s Green MEP Jean Lambert said the rules would make a real difference in the capital.

“Parts of London have discarded shopping bags in trees as far as the eye can see – they are unsightly and dirty and present a real threat to wildlife,” she said.

“Any measures to dramatically cut their use are to be welcomed: they’ll massively benefit our environment by significantly reducing plastic waste, and quickly.

“We’ve see, in Ireland, for example, that where plastic shopping bags are taxed, and alternatives provided, their use drops off very quickly, and ambitious targets to reduce them can be achieved: putting a price on single-use bags is a proven and highly effective policy tool for reducing their excessive consumption.”

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The London MEP, who has conducted a study for the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee on the potential for jobs recycling plastics, said the European Commission’s decision today to leave member states free to tackle the problem at national level was ‘sitting on the fence’.

“Plastic bags are a massive source of environmentally-destructive waste – and a genuine cross-border problem,” Ms Lambert said.

“Each year, about eight billion lightweight plastic bags end up as litter, accumulating in the environment and ending up in our seas, waterways and the general environment, with majorly negative impacts on wildlife and health.

“Lightweight plastic bags are very low-hanging fruit when it comes to reducing unnecessary plastic waste, and its impact on the environment.

“As a number of member states have already shown, the use of these bags can be significantly reduced with effective policy-making. Given plastic waste is an issue that transcends borders, a coherent EU approach, with clear targets for reduction, is badly needed. While member states should be able to choose how to reduce plastic bag use – whether through bans or levies – there should be obligatory reduction targets, otherwise only those member states that want to act will do so.

“The Commission has missed an opportunity today but we will seek to ensure the Parliament redresses this.”

Ms Lambert made her comments after the European Commission issued a statement earlier this week rejecting an EU-wide approach.

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The planned £4.7bn outsourcing of the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) operations has been put on hold in the face of dwindling local authority budgets – and keeping the services in the public sector is expected to save as much as £900m.

Ms Lambert, the capital’s Green Party MEP, said: “I am delighted that the North London Waste Authority has decided to ditch the proposals to outsource their entire operations. This is a massive victory for local campaigners.

“Now the North London Waste Authority should think about using existing sites more effectively, working to reduce household waste levels, and building smaller sites, closer to where the waste is being produced, where these prove absolutely necessary rather than developing systems that rely on ongoing waste production.”

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Speaking to mark World Oceans Day , and as an EU consultation on future rules regarding plastic waste disposal closed, she said:

“Our Oceans make up the vast majority of The Earth’s surface, and are home to millions of much loved creatures – yet they are under increasing stress from human activity.

“The EU is at the forefront of trying to manage the oceans sustainably: this year alone we have seen progressive new rules banning ‘shark finning’ and outlawing the dumping of dead, unwanted, fish at sea.

“Next year we will see new EU legislation on the disposal and recycling of plastic waste, and I hope these new rules will have tackling plastic’s increasing impact on the marine environment as a key element.

“Protecting our seas isn’t just about regulating what we take from them, it’s about what we put into them too.”

Ms Lambert made her comments as she visited the Greenpeace vessel ‘Arctic Sunrise’ at a London Docklands event to mark World Oceans Day.

She added: “The EU has as key a role to play in protecting our oceans, and all the species that call them home, as do the committed activists from organisations like Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd and the Shark Alliance.”

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The Green MEP said: “This decision, just three weeks after many of the same councillors voted against the proposed incinerator, appears to have been motivated by the fear of Sutton Council having to bear the costs of any expensive appeal.

“The councillors seem to have ignored all the real issues – the increased traffic, noise, air pollution, and impact on nearby homes and schools – and instead concentrated on the likely cost of any appeal against their decision.
Ms Lambert, who visited the Beddington Lane site earlier this year, added: “This incinerator would lock the councils in the South London Waste Partnership (SLWP) – Sutton, Merton, Kingston and Croydon – into high levels of waste generation to meet the terms of their contract – making it impossible to adopt waste reduction measures for the life of the contract.

“This decision is a blow for the local people and groups who have worked so hard to oppose this plan for a single incinerator with capacity to burn 300,000 tonnes of waste from across London – and even further afield – in the shadow of South London homes and schools.”

Now planning permission has been granted, a final decision rests with London mayor Boris Johnson.

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Members of Sutton Council’s Planning Committee voted this week to overturn officers’ recommendations and decided to defer a final decision on the incinerator after more than 100 pages of objections were raised.

The proposed incinerator, at Beddington Lane on the border between Croydon and Sutton, would have seen a massive increase in lorry journeys on the area’s already-congested streets, a serious deterioration of air quality, and a disincentive to further improve the borough’s rising recycling rates.

Ms Lambert, who visited the site earlier this year, said: “This incinerator would lock the councils in the South London Waste Partership (SLWP) – Sutton, Merton, Kingston and Croydon – into high levels of waste generation to meet the terms of their contract – making it impossible to adopt waste reduction measures for the life of the contract.

“This decision must be seen as a partial victory for the local people and groups who have worked so hard to oppose this plan for a single incinerator with capacity to burn 300,000 tonnes of waste from across London – and even further afield – in the shadow of South London homes and schools.

“The SLWP must now go back to the drawing board and develop a waste reduction strategy to improve local recycling and composting facilities instead.”

The application will now be considered at a future meeting.

For further information on the campaign, click here .

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