A TOP businessman has praised Hampshire for its forward-thinking policies on waste disposal.

But he also reminded delegates that the county still has plenty of scope to build business and protect the environment.

Jim Brathwaite CBE, chairman of the South East England Development Agency, was speaking at the Hampshire Economic Partnership's annual conference at The ARK Centre, in Basingstoke, last Friday.

Mr Brathwaite acknowledged that he was "preaching to the converted", saying that Hampshire was "the most advanced county in the country with its ideas on handling waste".

Hailing himself a would-be "waste champion" for the country, he discussed business opportunities that look set to arise from improving standards of waste disposal.

Mr Brathwaite said: "It's about changing our attitude. It's not always about the Government.

"There is a lot of money to be made in treating our environment correctly."

When questioned about new EU legislation concerning the disposal of car tyres, which means that some businesses have to transport used tyres all the way to Germany for proper treatment, he said: "We used to dump these into landfill. Then we shredded them and chopped them up, and then put them in landfill, and now we can't.

"It's the same with old cars. We may have new cars now but our old ones are out there somewhere, and what happens to them? I think there is a huge business opportunity there.

"We are not going to be able to shovel waste away any more. This is sneaking up on us now. We know it's coming, and it's coming pretty fast. But we haven't started to make provision for it so far."

Mr Braithwaite estimated that the South East will need another 200 to 300 new facilities in the next 20 to 30 years to deal with the region's waste disposal.

He added: "We must re-use, recycle and recover. I don't think we should bring in companies from abroad. We should whack up the tax on the landfill so it's not the cheapest option.

"We have got plenty of clever people here. I want to see the companies of Hampshire dealing with its waste."