Changing Times

Written by Graham Watson MEP and published in Bristol Civic Society Newsletter on Mon 1st Jan 2007

In 1994, when I was first elected as MEP for the then Somerset and North Devon constituency, concerns about the environment and recycling were sidelined to the fringes of 'main' political debate. Today, some twelve years on, it is testament to the conviction of the green movement, not to mention some irrefutable evidence on climate change, that green politics has moved to the forefront of our debate.

I know how environmental concerns have been pressing in Bristol. On a weekly basis I read stories and am in contact with constituents highlighting teething problems with the city's new recycling scheme. I understand these concerns: change is never easy. But if we are going to protect our planet from the challenges it faces, change, quite simply, is essential. And in Bristol the work of the local council, which has seen a meteoric rise in Bristol's recycling rates - up from 12% in May 2005 to around 40% currently - is the kind of direct action which must be applauded.

But of course green issues are not the same as local or even national issues. Put simply, environmental challenges pay no heed to national borders which is why they are increasingly tackled at the supranational level of the EU and which is why my work as an MEP can be so influential on national politics. Take, for example, the UK government's target to increase recycling and composting to 50% by 2020, directly inspired by EU legislation on waste.

Yet from the EU's Landfill Regulation, which stops the practice of co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste; to the Waste Oil Directive, which ensures the recovery of waste oil; or the Waste Incineration Directive, which sets stringent limits on all emissions from incineration, united EU action is playing a crucial role in all areas of waste management. On recycling, the new EU Batteries Directive, which demands that by 2008 at least 25% of all household batteries are recycled, will soon take effect and on energy-efficiency too, just look at the new stringent targets the European Commission has set requiring electronic goods manufacturers to increase the energy efficiency of their products - EU action, not just words.

When I visited the WEEE man, in Bristol in June - the 7 metre construction of waste electrical and electronic equipment - I came face-to-face with the shear volume of electrical and electronic waste produced in one person's lifetime. There are difficulties in changing our ways and from contact with constituents in the aggregates and recycling industry struggling to comply with government stipulations on waste I know these difficulties can often be exacerbated by those in power. But I am convinced that by working together and by accepting change we can significantly reduce our consumption and I am rightly proud that Bristol is leading this charge.