Circular Economy : UK: Environmental Services Association (ESA) aims for net zero emissions by 2040

The UK waste management industry has committed itself to reaching a net zero emissions target by 2040 via infrastructure investment and zero-emission vehicles.

The Environmental Services Association (ESA), the professional body representing the UK waste management sector, plans to invest £10 billion pounds into recycling infrastructure and necessary technology. Beyond driving recycling rates up, by 2030, ESA members aim to increase the capture of methane emissions by 85 percent from landfill.

Other goals include the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions via diversion of organic waste from landfill into recycling and energy production and the purchase of collection vehicles that will run on biofuel and zero-emission sources rather than petrol or diesel.

In the following decade, the industry body seeks to fully switch out conventional motorised vehicle fleets as well as roll out carbon-capture technology (CCS) across energy from waste facilities.

The plan will involve progress updates to the UK government and will also include a five-year annual review to accommodate for policy changes and market shifts. Every two years, the ESA will conduct a review to ascertain the purported reduction of climate relevant gases.

Jacob Hayler, Executive Director of the ESA, said: “The recycling and waste management sectors are key to the success of our reforms, from creating deposit return schemes for drinks containers to encouraging more recyclable packaging. This commitment will help the nation transform the way we deal with waste and reduce our emissions.”

Within a European context, UK households are responsible for a large proportion of plastic packaging waste. Coupled with budget cuts in waste management infrastructure, which in turn makes for flat recycling rates, the country’s options to treat waste appear limited. Seeing as China, formerly the world’s leading importer of plastic waste, imposed a ban on foreign plastic waste in 2018, that leaves the UK with landfill and incineration for energy production as waste treatment options.

The latter has been advocated for by certain green groups as a ‘cleaner’ choice than landfill though no one solution proves a failsafe in the fight against carbon emissions. According to the MacArthur Foundation, rather than betting exclusively on renewable energy in order to tackle the climate crisis, adopting a circular economy approach is more advisable. This means designing products that are built to last and ultimately optimizing resource use.°°°

Reaching net-zero on carbon emissions by 2040 has been outlined as a best-case scenario for meeting the targets set out in the Paris Agreement in an IPCC Special report. Carbon neutrality is of import considering that global temperatures have already risen by one degree, with a two degree spike being cause for worry on account of heightened flood, drought and extreme heat risks.

Yet many governments are sleeping on circular economy models-the 2019 Circularity Report finds that less than 10% of 92,8 billion tonnes of material extracted is reused on an annual basis.

Acknowledging the potential for circular waste management to transform the field as envisioned by the ESA’s net-zero emissions target, Rt Hon George Eustace MP, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “The recycling and waste management sectors are key to the success of our reforms, from creating deposit return schemes for drinks containers to encouraging more recyclable packaging. This commitment will help the nation transform the way we deal with waste and reduce our emissions.”