Northern Ireland – single waste management plan is urged in critical strategy report

The Waste Management Advisory Board for Northern Ireland (WMABNI) has criticised the Government‘‘s Environment Department for "poor" management and said it had failed to meet 83 out of 107 targets. It also called for an independent agency to enforce and regulate waste management.



The Waste Management Advisory Board for Northern Ireland was formed in May 2001 as a forum for key stakeholders within Northern Ireland to advise and assist with the promotion and implementation of the Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy. Throughout this period the Board has sought to encourage open consultation and engagement with all key stakeholders.



WMABNI notes that the Waste Management Strategy for Northern Ireland presents tremendous opportunities and challenges to the waste management sector in Northern Ireland. Positive steps have been made towards the achievement of recycling targets by the Regional Waste Management Groups and the ‘‘polluter pays‘‘ principle has been established. Much effort has been expended in the ‘‘Wake up to Waste‘‘ PR Campaign supported by a Northern Ireland wide schools education programme for recycling.



owever, to move forward it is necessary that Government see the Waste Management Strategy as a strategy for all Government and address the need for clear leadership. To enable the Strategy to be implemented as planned, the relevant Departments and Agencies need to develop clear and detailed implementation plans containing clearly identified timelines and resources, and they must be reviewed at the appropriate levels on a regular and frequent basis. The Board believes that insufficient resources have been made available from Government for the implementation of the Waste Strategy. This matter needs to be addressed urgently. Finally, the issue of the inadequate infrastructure for dealing with waste streams must be addressed. The recommendations in this report represent the unanimously agreed position of all members of the Waste Management Advisory Board for Northern Ireland. We therefore urge the Minister and the DOE (NI) to act upon them in implementation of the next phase of the Waste Management Strategy for Northern Ireland. The Review Report and its recommendations are directed to the Minister for the Environment of Northern Ireland, her Department and Agencies. However, it is only through the involvement of all the key stakeholders, that the vision contained in the Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy becomes a reality.



Overarching Recommendations



There are a number of recommendations, which have an overarching relevance to consideration of the Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy (NIWMS):

The Board strongly supports the establishment of an Independent Environmental Protection Agency for Northern Ireland, which would have the responsibility for delivery of robust and accountable monitoring, enforcement and regulation.

The NIWMS needs to be viewed within Government as a Strategy for all Government. To ensure that all Government Departments engage with the strategy and provide real leadership there should be a cross-departmental delivery group with membership at Permanent Secretary level and be chaired by a Minister.

Government need to recognise the huge infrastructural deficit, which exists in Northern Ireland, in terms of waste treatment, recycling, recovery, disposal and processing capacity. The issue needs to be given urgent priority within the Programme for Government.

Reviews need to be carried out in a number of critical areas including, landuse planning, waste management planning, procurement and partnerships.

Waste reduction, waste production and waste prevention must be addressed by all sectors.

To date there has been concentration on municipal wastes and this imbalance must be addressed through consideration of Agricultural, Commercial and Indust