Wednesday 30 June 2021

ESA to invest £10bn to decarbonise waste and recycling

The UK recycling and waste management sector has pledged to invest £10 billion into new infrastructure to prevent waste and cut down emissions.

The investment will be made by the Environmental Services Association (ESA), which claims 40,000 new jobs will be created.

The sector has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 46% since 1990 and now aims to cut overall UK emissions by 8% by 2040 through its new plan.

It has pledged to divert all organic waste from landfill to recycling and energy production by 2030 and roll out carbon capture technology across its facilities by 2040 where possible.

It has also committed to only purchasing zero emission collection vehicles from 2030 and phasing out petrol and diesel entirely by 2040.

Gavin Graveson, Chairman of the Environmental Services Association, said: “Our sector has made tremendous and rapid progress on decarbonisation but the climate crisis continues to accelerate and our sector is determined to embrace the challenge by doing more to ensure we hit net zero.

“Our report also shows that done right, decarbonisation can deliver green jobs and investment right across the UK.”