Committee News Release
CENV 001/2003
Wednesday 3 September 2003
INQUIRY INTO THE NATIONAL WASTE PLAN
The Scottish Parliament Environment and Rural Development Committee today announced an inquiry into the implementation of the National Waste Plan and has issued a call for evidence seeking views from all interested parties.
The remit agreed by the Committee for the Inquiry is:
- To evaluate the current position on implementation of the Plan,
including;
- Progress towards achieving key targets
- Funding available through the Strategic Waste Fund
- Whether the Best Practicable Environmental Option is being achieved in practice
- The effect of Area Waste Plans on existing community and voluntary partnerships
- Initiatives to develop suitable markets for waste
- Developments in non-municipal waste management
- To assess the appropriateness of the key targets and priorities in the Plan;
- To examine how the relationships between the Scottish Executive, SEPA, local authorities, NGOs, community partnerships and other stakeholders are contributing towards implementation of the Plan;
- To assess how well the Plan fits with existing European policy and best practice and likely future EU obligations.
The Committee intends to hold four evidence sessions (at its meetings on 17 and 24 September, and 1 and 8 October) as part of this inquiry. It hopes to hear evidence from a wide range of stakeholders, including statutory bodies and local and national waste management companies and projects.
Launching the Inquiry, Committee Convener Sarah Boyack said, “Scotland has an extremely poor record on waste management. The work of the eleven waste strategy areas and the new National Waste Plan provide an opportunity for us to catch up as we try to meet challenging targets and learn from best practice elsewhere. Our inquiry will look at how well key organisations are geared up for this challenge.”
The Committee is seeking views on all aspects of the remit, and would particularly welcome comments on:
- Does the National Waste Plan provide for suitable methods of reaching the key targets for managing waste?
- What progress is being made in meeting the targets set out in the Plan?
- Do funding methods provide the right form of targeted support and incentives?
- Is the level and method of funding through the Strategic Waste Fund appropriate to ensure that the Plan is achieved?
- Is the Waste Strategy Area approach working appropriately?
- Can adequate markets for waste be developed in order to reduce landfill, and could market development undermine longer term efforts to minimise waste production?
- Is the Best Practicable Environmental Option being achieved appropriately in practice, with particular reference to the differences between urban and rural areas?
- What initiatives are developing to improve management of non-municipal waste?
- Are all stakeholders able to work effectively together, particularly where the Waste Strategy Area covers more than one local authority boundary?
- What contribution are local and community groups making to meeting the new targets and wider sustainable development objectives?
- Are the targets and priority approaches in the Plan appropriate, and do they adequately reflect best practice as well as existing legal obligations?
- Does the Plan take account of likely future EU obligations, and how will it leave Scotland placed to meet the challenge of these new developments?
BACKGROUND NOTES
Responses will be treated as a public document, unless respondents make it clear when sending in that they do not want it to be published or circulated in public. All responses will be circulated to the Committee.
Submissions should not exceed 4 sides of A4 paper. Evidence should be submitted no later than 12 noon on Friday 3 October 2003. Late submissions can only be accepted by prior arrangement with the Committee Clerk.
Since written evidence may be published it would be most helpful if responses could be submitted by email to ERDC@scottish.parliament.uk
If you have a computer, but no email, you can post your response to us on a 3½" disk in Word 97. If you cannot use email or a disk, your submission must be typed. All responses become the property of the Scottish Parliament and we are unable to return documents.
Hard copy submissions should be sent to:
Roz Wheeler
Room 3.5
Committee Chambers
The Scottish Parliament
EDINBURGH EH99 1SP.
The contact for members of the media is:
James Mackenzie: 0131 348 5605
(RNID Typetalk calls welcome)
email: james.mackenzie@scottish.parliament.uk
For specific committee information, contact:
Stephen Imrie: 0131 348 5234
email: stephen.imrie@scottish.parliament.uk
For public information enquiries, contact: 0131 34 85000
For general enquiries, contact: 0845 278 1999 (local
call rate)
Visit our website at: www.scottish.parliament.uk