Infrastructure Chief: Brexit Would Be A Waste

A vote for the UK to leave the European Union (EU) could jeopardise billions of pounds in infrastructure investment, the boss of one of Britain's biggest waste recycling groups warned this weekend.

In a statement issued to Sky News, David Palmer-Jones, chief executive of Suez's UK recycling and recovery division, said recycling targets drawn up in Brussels had underpinned substantial investment in the industry in the UK, creating thousands of jobs.

"The EU is now considering a 65% household recycling target for 2030 and if this becomes a legally binding target across member states - including the UK - it would stimulate further investment and jobs in the UK," he said.

"Without this next new target, the next stage of infrastructure and jobs creation across our sector could be put at risk."

Mr Palmer-Jones' comments make him the latest corporate executive to warn about the implications of June's in-out referendum, even as many others were criticised this week by pro-Brexit campaigners for signing a letter suggesting that leaving the EU would threaten jobs and deter investment.

A poll by Sky News suggested that few of the nearly 200 companies whose bosses signed the letter were drawing up firm plans to cut jobs in the event of Brexit, sparking accusations of hypocrisy.

Suez, which is part of the French state-backed company Engie (LSE: 0LD0.L - news) , employs more than 5500 people in Britain in its recycling and resource management business.

Mr Palmer-Jones had previously indicated his support for the UK's continued membership of the EU but his comments this weekend go further, suggesting that Britain would become a less attractive destination for infrastructure investment.

"Should the UK referendum be decided in favour of a Brexit and the UK leave the EU, there is a clear risk that the current EU-led policy drives towards creating a circular economy within the UK will stall or even move back a step, which in turn could have a negative impact on future investment decisions into UK infrastructure," he said.

"We anticipate that a Brexit would also trigger a re-evaluation of major infrastructure investments across the industry, from waste and recycling to resource management and energy recovery projects.

"In total there is the potential to create thousands of new jobs should we move the UK more fully from a throw-away society to a recycle, re-use and recovery based economy in a way that is currently envisaged under the latest EU-led policy drivers."

He added that Suez had already invested, with financial partners, more than £1.5bn in UK infrastructure over the last seven years, reflecting a "strategic shift [which] was a response to a clear UK government led, EU-inspired and required shift for the UK to divert waste from landfill whilst encouraging at the same time more recycling."