The UK Government‘‘s Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra‘‘s) Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Howard Dalton, has announced the publication of the research strategy which aims to deliver better-informed sustainable waste management policy development, and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, at both national and local levels.

Professor Howard Dalton said: "This strategy represents a useful step forward in the Government‘‘s long-term progress towards finding sustainable ways of managing waste. With good management, we can achieve greater national resource productivity and a cleaner, better-protected environment. To achieve these goals we need a solid evidence base and this waste research strategy, with its strategic focus and plans for disseminating research results, should help us to get closer to this goal."

While placing a particular emphasis on encouraging research into cross-cutting issues, the strategy is based on eight key themes:

sustainable resource consumption and management systems for resource recovery residual wastes management market development and intervention social dimensions, environment and health (risk assessment and impact management) economics decision tools

The strategy also provides an evaluation of priorities and budgets for early implementation work. One early project, aimed at linking research efforts, will establish an electronic library of research and an online information resource for the waste research community. It will build on earlier work in this area, conducted under the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

The 3-year costed strategy for Defra-funded research will help to secure an annual budget of around £5m, available initially through Defra‘‘s Waste Implementation Programme (WIP). First calls for proposals are likely to be made in November 2004.