As summer draws to a close, we hit a further milestone in the now long list of unprecedented COVID-19 events: six months since lockdown first came into effect in the UK.
Our day-to-day working and living practices have changed and continue to change; we know there can be no return to ‘normal’. But the norms and values that govern our society continue, as do the laws by which we abide.
As we emerge from national lockdown and into autumn, our ruling bodies will resume their work and the legislative process continues apace. Arguably distracted by both Brexit and the pandemic, focus on the climate change emergency and Net Zero agenda must nevertheless remain laser sharp at every level: globally, nationally, regionally, locally – and from within the waste management and recycling sector.
Over recent months, we have faced untold challenges in our personal and working lives – for many of us, it has indeed been the worst of times. But we have also borne witness to much that has been life-affirming – and our altered perspective post-COVID now affords us unique opportunities to ensure that the best can emerge out of the worst.
Back in 2018, the much-anticipated Resources and Waste Strategy set out the Government’s so-called “landmark blueprint” for our future. Now, two years later – and inevitably delayed but not stymied by first Brexit and then coronavirus – the Environment Bill continues to find its way forward to deliver on these ambitions. Other key Government initiatives will be critical to its success – not least the long-awaited National Infrastructure Strategy.
Throughout the development of these hugely important pieces of work, each stage and process provides valuable opportunities for public and private sector to rally their experience and expertise, to share their insights and bring these forward to help shape all of our futures.
I’m sure I’m not alone in noticing how, among the many challenges and changes over the past few months, our national vocabulary has expanded, with certain words and phrases that were previously unknown or seldom used now in everyday parlance. The term ‘unprecedented’ is just one of these. Across the waste management and recycling sector, we have come together to play one small but important part in the national response to the pandemic – and with Government recognition of our people as essential keyworkers, in turn we have shared in something that is truly unprecedented: the overwhelming public goodwill and support for all of those working so tirelessly on the frontline to protect others. Perhaps as a sector we can continue to pay this forward – by stepping up to ensure we contribute our collective insights and knowledge to help shape our future.
Among the countless lessons to be learned from the coronavirus pandemic, perhaps the most inspiring of all is how truly united we can stand and how powerful this can be in ensuring change for the better for us all.
