Zero waste is not misleading
Speaking at the Resource Waste Management Summit in London on Tuesday, organised by MRW, Norris was keen to promote the benefits of a zero waste strategy.
He said: “We need to set our sights on removing the very concept of waste from our language and our culture and that means taking a vision of a zero waste nation and making it a reality.”
However, the minister was challenged on this statement at the end of his presentation in the question and answer session.
A member of the audience said: “Can I just ask a question about the choice of word which is zero waste, you said let’s make this an achievable target. Can that ever be literally true? And if not, isn’t it a bit misleading to use the phrase zero waste?”
Responding, Norris pointed out that while it may not currently possible it should be a goal for everyone to aspire to.
“What I want, why we use that phrase is if we said ‘nearly zero waste’ I think that would be to allow people to divert their energies into other discussions and debates when I desperately want people to focus on reducing as much as possible,” said Norris.
“The reality is that we have a huge challenge and so big a challenge is it that we have to think in quite radical ways so I think a radical concept like zero waste is important to exercise minds as a catalyst to make the changes which I think many of us agree are vital.”
He also said that the concept of zero waste is a vital tool in engaging the public and that he believes people understand that it is, at this stage, a concept rather than a reality.
As well as focusing on the need to embrace zero waste, Norris also talked about how much things have improved in terms of waste and recycling, since the introduction of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme.
He said: “The UK’s first environmental tax has bought about a 25% reduction in the amount of waste sent to the landfill sites registered for it.
“But we need to go further because we are still putting food and other waste into landfill.”
Norris also confirmed that Defra will be launching a consultation process in the next few weeks setting out its options for introducing new measures in relation to landfill bans.
