Futuresource – London Excel 15 – 17th June
For those of our clients in the waste, environment and sustainability sector the upcoming Futuresource conference and exhibition will provide the opportunity to reconnect and talk with numerous people over the three day period.
However, with the election just behind us it is inevitable there will be much discussion and debate on the new political landscape and the subsequent impact for the sector. Will the new government’s policies help, hinder or change the direction and speed the sector wants, or needs?
Focusing on waste treatment and processing, local authorities have been urged by central government to make faster progress on their infrastructure needs. Well documented delays in planning, coupled with financial constraints in the current economic climate mean that progress has been slow. This is particularly true of technologies deemed to be the most controversial, namely incineration.
Prior to the election all the parties recognised the obstacles to delivering new waste processing infrastructure and the opportunity to use waste to generate heat and electricity. However no party was seemingly inclined to intervene or accelerate the current regime. Will we now see any change? The key issues facing the industry remain - infrastructure funding, efficiency in service provision and technology choice for processing wastes.
With the fourth and intended final round of PFI funding past, what does the future hold for financing and operating additional infrastructure for both municipal and commercial & industrial waste streams? Will Labour’s waste strategy plan (2007) to use 25% of municipal waste for energy production by 2020 have any chance of being realised? Or, be discarded? In terms of technologies, anaerobic digestion remains highly favoured by the new Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition, but will this process in isolation provide a realistic solution to the volume and composition of waste we produce in the UK?
Questions, questions, questions ... we look forward to hearing a range of informed views and opinions next month. If you are visiting, please ensure you stop by our stand – G24 in the Green Zone. For more information or to register for the Exhibition, go to www.futuresourceuk.com
