Climate change – reducing waste and supporting the circular economy
60. While CPRE supports and positively encourages the principle of reducing waste and supporting the circular
economy, it deems Policy CC/CE far too weak. Worse, the draft Local Plan is not in accordance with the
first principles quoted in this policy: “construction waste will be addressed following the waste hierarchy
and the 5 r’s of waste management: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle.”
61. All unnecessary construction should be Refused and all construction Reduced. This includes the excessive
building across South Cambridgeshire proposed by the draft Plan.
62. Existing constructions should be Reused, Repurposed or Recycled. This applies not just within the
Cambridge region but right across the country with Cambridgeshire doing whatever it can to encourage the
reusing, repurposing and recycling of the nearly 1 million empty homes in the UK and the recycling of the
1.3 million brownfield sites across the UK before permitting further greenfield construction around
Cambridge.
63. These principles apply to construction as a whole, not just to construction waste. Their proper application
will have a major effect in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.