On Wednesday 20th January This is Rubbish attended the Cymru WRAP Resource Efficiency conference in Cardiff.
The conference was organised to discuss three main issues; how can businesses realise the benefits of reducing waste, how can resource efficiency help Wales achieve its climate change targets and how can WRAP Cymru and Government help. The conference bought together over 100 business leaders, environmental experts and members of the WAG Government.
Waking up early on Wednesday and going through the agenda, we weren’t sure of how the conference really related to This is Rubbish’s campaign objectives, as there was no specific mention of food waste. The focus was on reducing waste and maximising the efficient use of resources in general. The agenda looked broad and potentially too business- focused for our campaign to really be relevant in the context. We decided to go anyway and get our first taste of a corporate, political and expert waste reduction discussion.
Cycling through the sleet to the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff, we arrived somewhat disheveled. Walking past the large window of the lower foyer, we realised that we were dressed like practical cyclists and completely out of keeping with the style of our fellow attendees. This was a suited and booted affair, and we were dressed in bright yellow waterproofs, cherry print shoes and practical mountain gear. I considered if it was time for This is Rubbish to get some smart outing suits sorted.
We found our seats, necked some coffee and got our notebooks out. The conference was opened by Dr Liz Goodwin, CEO of WRAP, who set the tone for the day’s proceedings. This was about the environment, but firstly it was about business. We were a pair of campaigners encouraging political advocacy in a room full of entrepreneurs. Welsh businesses could save up to £318 million a year by using resources more efficiently. Furthermore, resource efficiency could also prove to be a ‘secret weapon’ against climate change as it allows immediate action to meet pressing and challenging targets. As I looked around the pinstripe Blue sea, I wondered how many people were thinking of the environmental damage caused by food waste and how many were thinking of turning abundant food waste into money in the form of biogas. Goodwin’s focus was on reducing the amount of valuable resources that go to waste by supporting businesses and individuals to “reap the benefits of waste”. Every year, the UK consumes 680 million tonnes of materials, 50% of which ends up as waste. That really is unsustainable use of resources. WRAP’s focus is to reduce the amount of stuff that is used in the first place, and turn the remaining waste into resources. I considered how they were planning to identify where food waste arises in our complex global food supply chain and reduce it wherever possible at the source. As Goodwin states, WRAP are committed to the Low Carbon Transition Plan, which requires an 18% cut in emissions from 2008 levels, by 2020, but methods of achieving this through waste reduction and resource efficiency were wrapped up in distracting financial incentives, and punctuated with business jargon.
Jane Davidson, Minister for the Environment, Sustainability & Housing gave the second speech, and she drew attention to the urgency of climate change, environmental degradation and resource depletion; giving the conference a clear sustainability slant. She very clearly located the problem of waste in the context of climate change, and drew attention to the amount of energy, fossil fuels and pollution that waste embodies. Continuing to declare that waste must become obsolete, she justified this statement by drawing attention to the fact that population is increasing while the planet’s natural resources are depleting. It was deeply satisfying to hear the WAG Environment minister orating the disregard that businesses and society had shown for environmental limits, and that many in the rich West have lost sight of wider consequences of our actions.
As Davidson demonstrated a commitment to abolish all waste and improve the management of all resources, I thought that she was the best person to ask a question or two about food waste reduction methods. At the end of her speech, she asked the floor for their questions. I introduced This is Rubbish, continuing to describe the Feeding the 5000 event. I went on to ask how likely a WAG and Westminster policy change would be, that would regulate all sectors of the food industry, demanding transparent, independently commissioned annual food waste audits and implementing obligatory annual food waste reduction targets. I also asked if such policy changes were something that WAG were developing, and if so what is the delivery date for such policy changes. Davidson firstly congratulated This is Rubbish for raising wide public awareness to the problem of food waste. That’s nice. She went onto explain that WAG didn’t have the political power to implement such national food industry regulations, and that Westminster were looking into reducing the problem of food waste within the food industry. So WAG can’t lead the way on national policy, and doesn’t have the power to regulate the Welsh food industry. Is this because the mammoth supermarkets are too powerful for WAG to regulate? This is Rubbish got a congratulatory mention from Jane Davidson, but what would be better is Welsh political leadership, implementing food waste reduction legislation, applicable to all sectors of the food industry. Such a move would surely be a positive contribution towards achieving the Welsh carbon reduction commitment; reducing C02 emissions by 3% pa from 2011.
As the conference went on there was a wide range of industries and waste topics mentioned. My ears pricked up whenever food was mentioned, and this happened frequently when we got onto the subject of anaerobic digesters. WAG has a Materials Action Program (MAP) that was launched in January 2008. The MAP Anaerobic Digestion Capital Support Program can provide up to 30% towards the capital costs of an AD facility. The investment can be used to fund plant and equipment (fixed or mobile) and related infrastructure. There is no limit on the size of scheme proposed, but the project must be able to prove that it is a long-term commercially viable project. In 2009, a further £26 million of new funding was announced by The Assembly Government; funding further anaerobic digestion schemes in Wales. WAG and WRAP are very keen to encourage the implementation of AD technologies in Wales, however, AD plants require a constant feedstock of organic matter; much of it potentially food waste. The primary food waste reduction measure to be taken and promoted is preventing the occurrence of food waste in the first place. The amount of energy recouped from turning food into bio energy is nominal. For example, putting a tone of tomatoes through AD would recoup less than 0.75% of the emissions released when producing the crop in the first place. The dichotomy is clear;: concentrating on solving the problem of food waste by sending it to AD plants to generate biogas and renewable energy necessitates food waste to be constantly arising. AD has its place, but is not a solution to be widely promoted before the food industry is made to meet ambitious annual waste reduction targets.
The second exciting thing to happen was when TiR got another question in, this time for the closing question. Liz Goodwin was up on the podium again, and I decided to fire a Q to her. My question to CEO of WRAP was, “What is WRAP doing to quantify and report on where food waste is occurring in the entire UK food supply chain?” Her answer was that DEFRA are currently working on a food product waste map, and that this is research in process, giving indicators of where most food waste arises. There wasn’t time for much more detail, so I went to catch her at the end of the conference to ask her in to elaborate on this ‘mapping’ project. She gave me her card and said she was happy to answer emails. I’m now waiting for a reply from Richard Swannell, the WRAP director of design and waste minimisation who runs the project to get back to me……
All in all, an eye-opening event for TiR, with relevant questions asked and promising links made. Lovely.
