The physical realities of climate change are already outrunning legislative progress. The two will only intersect only ‘when grannies start popping their clogs’, according to Peter Jones of Biffa.

Speaking at Re:fresh, Jones painted a world in which impending heatwaves and their impact on the public health, and most noticeably the elderly or infirm, would be the next major driver of legislative progress on the carbon issue.

“The political will to take these tough decisions is to be driven by chaos and fear,” Jones noted. In his capacity as head of the waste-management company, Jones said that he has put into place a variety of strategies to move towards this entirely novel playing field. Landfill, he noted, is being taxed out of existence. By 2012, most of Britain’s landfill will be used up, prompting the need for radical solutions to the waste crisis.

Jones argues that the recent flurry of enviro-taxes are not “merely another anvil on which to hammer UK taxpayers,” but are instead a vital part of conserving Britain. Abroad, there is already an enormous amount of activity around often hi-tech solutions to waste disposal.

Japan, for instance, has a strong programme of gasification of waste. But the commercial incentives for this were only created by the exorbitantly high gate fees on landfill. Ultimately, the UK will go the same way, as landfill as a commodity is rationed into non-existence.

“My advice is that you regulate yourselves, and try to think across the supply chain on solutions for these issues. Otherwise, civil servants will do it for you,” he warned.