A service that advised businesses on whether they could create new products out of their waste has been suspended indefinitely.
The Environment Agency’s Definition of Waste panel consisted of up to eight agency experts who helped businesses submit evidence that materials such as scrap iron, steel, copper and glass do not need to be treated as waste under the EU End of Waste Regulations.
The agency suspended the service in October for three months. The agency now says the panel is closed ‘until further notice’ while its role in its waste regulation strategy is reviewed.
The Environmental Services Association said it was disappointed that the closure had occurred without industry consultation.
Continued closure would stifle future innovative proposals from industry to convert waste materials into resources for the circular economy, said the trade body’s policy adviser, Roy Hathaway.
