Water 2012.
ICE calls for decisive and prompt action to tackle the UK’s water security, which ICE warn will continue to worsen if not addressed urgently.
In its State of the Nation: Water report ICE says the recent droughts have been a ‘wake up call’ for the UK but the urgency and severity of the UK’s water issues is still not properly understood. ICE rates the UK’s current water security as level 4 on a 1-10 scale.
To tackle the crisis ICE has called for the creation of a ‘UK Water Security Taskforce’ to deliver an integrated roadmap to water security by spring 2014, based on strategic plans from all Governments. If the roadmap includes time-bound steps the UK could be out of danger - at water security level 8 or 9 - by 2025.
In order to highlight issues specific to the East of England we have produced a regional briefing sheet. Download the regional Briefing sheet for the East of England. For more information on State of the Nation or to download the full report please visit State of the Nation.
Waste and Resource Management 2011.
Engineering report calls for ‘Waste Evolution’.
Pressure on local authorities to recycle more to avoid exceeding their landfill allowance is creating the risk of a ‘quantity not quality’ approach to processing waste, which could see recycled material such as paper, glass and plastics in no state to be reused commercially, and ending up back in landfill according to the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).
In its State of the Nation: Waste and Resource Management 2011 report, the leading engineering body calls for a waste sector ‘evolution’, costing at least £10-20bn by 2020. This would see policy makers and the waste industry make a rapid shift towards a culture where the focus is not only on increasing the quantity of recycled materials but on retaining the quality and value of reusable materials as they move through the waste cycle, so they can be returned to and benefit the economy as first rate, saleable goods.
In order to highlight issues specific to the East of England we have produced a regional briefing sheet. Download the regional Briefing sheet for the East of England For more information on State of the Nation or to download the full report please visit State of the Nation.