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Defra hosts waste industry growth summit
May 22, 2013
Defra hosts waste industry growth summit
Defra will today seek to bring together investors, bankers, entrepreneurs and waste management firms at a “growth summit” designed to help identify how to accelerate investment in the waste, recycling, and resource management industry.
Hosted by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, the meeting is designed to explore how government and industry can build on the recent success of the waste sector, which has recorded growth rates of between three and four percent throughout the economic downturn. The industry is now worth £12bn a year and employs over 100,000 people, and Paterson said he was keen to attract to more investment to a sector that is not only critical to meeting the UK’s various environmental target but also offers significant export opportunities.
“There is a huge global market in waste and recycling and I want to see UK businesses leading the way on this,” he said in a statement. “Dealing with waste and recycling properly is good for business as well as the environment and has the potential to boost economic growth and create jobs. To make it happen I want to break down the barriers businesses face to ensure they can compete and lead in the global race.”
The UK has delivered drastic improvements in its recycling rates over the past decade, but there is evidence that progress has stalled in recent years, as well as concerns that over £5bn worth of recyclable materials are exported each year, primarily as a result of a shortage of recycling capacity in the UK.
Read more at Business Green.
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