Anyone who has ever worked in the waste management industry will no doubt already have learnt that theirs does not have the same `sex' appeal as some other industries. High technology industries have glamour in abundance, constantly displayed either in the products themselves in the case of the aerospace, motor vehicle and computer industries or, in the case of consumer products, high profile advertising. Thus, in popular culture, some industries and their products are decidedly `sexy' in a way that the waste management industry will never be. That this is rather obvious does not detract from the statement in a recent UK Government report that 'The waste management industry is small and not `sexy' enough to compete against larger-scale
construction or defence contracts for Government and other support'.

The report*, from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on 'The Competitiveness of The UK Waste Management Industry' is a welcome major review of an industry subjected not only to the normal competitive pressures of the market place faced by every industrial sector but also, and particularly in recent years, to significantly greater legislative

pressures. Publication of the DTI report followed closely on the heels of a separate report** on waste management in Great Britain by the National Centre for Business Ecology, for Biffa Waste Services. The two reports together provide a useful snapshot of the state of waste management industry in Britain today.

Interestingly, and perhaps because of the historic lack of `sexiness' in waste matters, the Biffa report 'Great Britain plc - The Environment Balance Sheet' highlights the difficulties industry and policy makers face as a result of a general lack of information and the poor quality of the limited data that is available. For example, attempts to account for the environmental impacts of solid, liquid and gaseous wastes on a regional basis within Great Britain are hindered by the different geographic boundaries for those spending environmental capital (debtors) and measuring environmental impacts (creditors). Figures for wastes arising are quoted in the DTI report but the DTI admits that: data for the the industry does not fall into any one Standard Industrial Classification code and that data for the sector, as a whole, is quite poor; returns for the waste classification code are so low that official data sources are limited; data presented is the best available but based on estimates; that the reliability of estimates is variable, making comparisons difficult; and, that data for some major waste streams from construction, industry and agriculture is quite dated.

Given a background of poor quality information and data, it is not difficult to understand why so little research and development on waste management has been undertaken in the UK. The DTI estimates that the percentage of government financed R&D has been less than 0.1% of GDP, compared to about 0.25% in Germany and the Netherlands. The low level of research in the UK may also be due to the fragmented nature of the UK market, which is dominated by smaller companies with no resources to invest.

It is, perhaps, easier and altogether more attractive for government, national and local, to devote attention and effort to the higher profile and `sexier' international agenda of global warming and Agenda 21 etc., and the attention of the general public is generally also more easily gained for such issues. These two reports, however, constitute a useful reminder that government and industry should not forget the sometimes more basic information and policy needs required to underwrite the achievement of sustainable waste management practices on anything like approaching a national scale.

Comprising about 3,500 companies it is not an insignificant industry though only about a dozen are large and most operate only on a regional basis due to the high cost of transporting waste. Increasingly, however, it is envisaged that other businesses will seek integrated solutions. Competitive pressures will ultimately drive the industry in this direction but this will require greater support for training and innovation.

While it is difficult to envisage the UK's waste management sector attracting greater direct government support, all EC governments are likely to look to the environmental sector in general for growth in employment. According to Britt Bjerregaard, EC Environment Commissioner, greater use of renewable energy could generate half a million jobs in the EC. The Commissioner has proposed 5 key areas for action: benchmarking best practice; promoting technology assessment and development; building on efforts to integrate employment and sustainable development; restructuring tax systems; and, promoting education and training to support the introduction of environmentally friendly technologies and working practices. These are all areas for which industry could legitimately expect government to provide some additional support. Traditional waste management companies might also consider diversifying into areas such as the promotion of best practice thus adding value for customers seeking integrated solutions to their waste management problems.

With `training, inward investment, new management blood and people choosing to enter the industry as a career' the DTI report says that the industry will grow in professionalism and that vision, innovation and strategic planning will develop further if data, market intelligence collection and dissemination is improved. Government and the waste management industry both have a role to play in improving the supply and quality of data, but both will also need to utilise greater powers of imagination if the industry is to ever to develop any sort of `sex appeal'. Perhaps employment, which is an issue that always holds `sex appeal' for Government is one area where the industry might look for greater support, given the EC's interest in this area.

*`The Competitiveness of the UK Waste Management Industry' is available from: ENV Directorate, DTI, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SS. Tel: 0171 215 1330; Fax: 0171 215 2909.

** `Great Britain plc - The Environmental Balance Sheet' is available, price £99.50 from: Keith Harper, Biffa Waste Services Ltd., Coronation Road, Cressex, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP12 3TZ. Tel: 01494 556402; Fax: 01494 463368.