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Raw materials “crunch” could impact UK industry

The Government must take urgent action to secure the the supply of raw materials, say the Material Security Working Group.

A joint letter from the group, which includes EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation and Friends of the Earth, to the Government, warns about a “pending raw material crunch”.

The group suggest the UK must develop a robust strategy to keep valuable raw materials circulating within the economy, or face shortages for industry.

According to the group, increasing global demand, coupled with rapidly degrading ecosystems, is contributing to a precarious supply of some raw materials.

Despite recent fluctuations, material prices are projected to escalate as three billion people join the global middle classes, putting pressure on already fragile and depleted ecosystems.

Materials such as wood, plastic and rubber, as well as metals used to make every day electronic products and low-carbon technologies, are likely to become increasingly costly.

A recent survey from EEF found 80% of senior manufacturing executives considered limited access to raw materials was already a business risk, and a threat to growth.

The group are now calling for an Office for Resource Management to consistently deal with the crisis; a “task force” to review existing targets and recommend policy on recycling; and a ban on recyclable materials being sent to “energy from waste” plants and landfills, unless there is an environmental and economic case for doing so.

EEF Head of Climate & Environment Policy, Gareth Stace, said: “We live in an age where global demand for resources is surging with prices on an upward trend and concerns about shortages mounting.

“Whilst the government’s Resource Security Action Plan was a step in the right direction, it falls short of meeting the challenges we will face when obtaining new resources will become more difficult and costly.

“Government must now step up its ambitions and produce a bolder plan of action that deals with the challenges not just now but in the longer term. This is vital not just from an environmental perspective but to ensure a long term sustainable future for manufacturing and the wider economy.”

Friends of the Earth Resource Campaigner Julian Kirby, said: “The country’s leading business and environment groups have joined forces to direct a clarion call to the Government - Ministers must take action to prevent a growing resource crisis becoming a catastrophe for our economy and the environment.

“The UK buries and burns at least £650 million a year of valuable materials - wasting billions of pounds of business and public money.

“David Cameron must address the incoherent approach to resource security his Government has taken so far. A new Office of Resource Management would ensure all departments create jobs and boost the economy by slashing the waste of natural resources.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .