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Whatever Armani might say, green is most definitely the new black.

Barely a day goes by without some reference to environmental issues, whether it is greenhouse gases, melting ice caps or, the perennial favourite, so-called ‘excess’ packaging.

In England, the man nominally responsible for this is David Miliband, the secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs. It falls to him to present the government line, and never more so than in the increasingly prominent issue of waste.

“Action on waste can make an important contribution to tackling climate change and other environmental objectives,” he says. “More and more people are concerned about living in a throw-away culture.”

After several months of delay, the government’s new Waste Strategy for England was finally published in May, focused on providing society with the “tools to make a difference”, both in terms of what to do with waste and, crucially, reducing the amount of it produced in the first place.

Less landfill
“Despite all the progress we’ve made, England’s waste performance still lags far behind much of Europe,” Miliband told Parliament. “Other countries landfill far less, and recycle and recover energy from waste far more.”

But common to all countries is the challenge of reducing the growth of waste, because it is here that the greatest benefits are to be had.

In the past 10 years, the recycling and composting of waste in England has nearly quadrupled to 27%. At the same time, the amount of waste sent to landfill sites has fallen, and is now some 9% less than when the first waste strategy was published in 2000.

However, the country still generates about 100m tonnes of waste each year, most of which ends up in landfill, while consuming natural resources at unsustainable levels.

As such, new recycling targets have been set for 40% of household waste to be recycled or composted by 2010 – rising to 50% by 2020 – with industrial and commercial waste sent to landfill predicted to fall by 20% by 2020.

Manufacturers are being called upon to assume greater responsibility and the government is looking to set up voluntary agreements with industry to reduce and recycle waste. It has also identified key materials where waste can be reduced or recycled, many of which are found in packaging.

The Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (Incpen) has criticised the waste strategy for the emphasis given to what is, after all, only 18% of the waste stream.

“We’re going to have to accept that people equate waste with packaging,” says Incpen director Jane Bickerstaffe. “But we do need to keep explaining that it is something they would find it difficult to live without.”

Current targets of 60% recovery and 55% recycling of packaging waste by 2008 are on track, and the government is considering raising the bar to include more of the 5bn tonnes that is not recycled. Packaging minimisation is another key area, to be achieved through the setting up of and, importantly, better enforcement of ‘optimum packaging standards’.

“All our evidence is that the vague wording of the packaging directive is a significant hindrance to effective prosecution,” says Miliband.

But the waste strategy is something that “the whole of society needs to play a part in”, not just business.
Introducing more recycling facilities in public places, promoting waste reduction and recycling in schools and putting an end to single-use carrier bags, possibly by having retailers charge for them, are among the proposals to better educate the public.

With landfill regarded as the last resort, the strategy also proposes harnessing energy from a quarter of all municipal waste by 2020.

“Some people think obtaining more energy from waste is bound to mean less recycling,” says Miliband. “The countries in Europe with the least landfill also have higher levels of recycling and energy produced from waste.”

Charge for collection
The most controversial aspect of the strategy is a consultation into allowing local authorities to charge for waste collection. However, the environment secretary maintains that even if it is agreed on, it will be down to the individual councils to decide whether to implement it.

“It is right that we do not prescribe the use of financial incentives, but it is also right to give [councils] the ability to do so if they choose,” says Miliband. “Local authorities should get the gain and take the blame.”

The government’s strategy leaves many questions unanswered, not least over funding, but it does suggest that, given its perceived prominence in the waste stream, the current fashion for attacking ‘excess’ packaging is likely to continue.

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MORE ON MILIBAND
David Miliband has been secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs since May 2006, having previously held ministerial posts at the departments of communities and local government, and education. He was elected MP for South Shields in 2001. Before that he was the head of Tony Blair’s policy unit, both in government and opposition.

Miliband is married to a violinist in the London Symphony Orchestra, with whom he has a son, and is a season ticket holder at Arsenal football club.

A graduate of Oxford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, his first professional ambition was to be a bus conductor.