Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their policy paper Plan for Water, updated on 4 April, what funding they intend to provide to develop microfibre filters on new washing machines.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has already taken significant steps to tackle plastic pollution (e.g. microplastics), including restricting the supply of several single-use plastics through introducing a plastic packaging tax from April 2022; restricting the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds; and preventing billions of plastic microbeads from entering the ocean each year by introducing a ban on microbeads in rinse off personal care products.
The majority of microfibres are removed through water treatment and analysis of the evidence available to date does not show that there is a sufficient benefit to the environment that can justify legislation to mandate the microfibre filters in new washing machines with prices ranging from £30 to £122 per machine, dependent on manufacturer and whether the filters are disposable or reusable. Defra’s Plan for Water therefore includes a commitment for industry to develop low cost, effective microfibre filters on washing machines and encourage their effective use. We have met industry colleagues and posed this challenge and we look forward to any proposals they are able to share when they are able to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential environmental benefits of mandating microfibre filters on new washing machines.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has already taken significant steps to tackle plastic pollution (e.g. microplastics), including restricting the supply of several single-use plastics through introducing a plastic packaging tax from April 2022; restricting the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds; and preventing billions of plastic microbeads from entering the ocean each year by introducing a ban on microbeads in rinse off personal care products.
The majority of microfibres are removed through water treatment and analysis of the evidence available to date does not show that there is a sufficient benefit to the environment that can justify legislation to mandate the microfibre filters in new washing machines with prices ranging from £30 to £122 per machine, dependent on manufacturer and whether the filters are disposable or reusable. Defra’s Plan for Water therefore includes a commitment for industry to develop low cost, effective microfibre filters on washing machines and encourage their effective use. We have met industry colleagues and posed this challenge and we look forward to any proposals they are able to share when they are able to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to tackle microplastic pollution entering waterways from washing machines.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has already taken significant steps to tackle plastic pollution (e.g. microplastics), including restricting the supply of several single-use plastics through introducing a plastic packaging tax from April 2022; restricting the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds; and preventing billions of plastic microbeads from entering the ocean each year by introducing a ban on microbeads in rinse off personal care products.
The majority of microfibres are removed through water treatment and analysis of the evidence available to date does not show that there is a sufficient benefit to the environment that can justify legislation to mandate the microfibre filters in new washing machines with prices ranging from £30 to £122 per machine, dependent on manufacturer and whether the filters are disposable or reusable. Defra’s Plan for Water therefore includes a commitment for industry to develop low cost, effective microfibre filters on washing machines and encourage their effective use. We have met industry colleagues and posed this challenge and we look forward to any proposals they are able to share when they are able to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act 1996 in the United States; what plans they have, if any, to introduce similar legislation to reduce food waste and allow for “apparently wholesome food” to be donated to charities; and whether they have received any representations from charities about the case for such legislation.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are no plans to introduce legislation in this area. The absence of such legislation has not been seen as a key barrier to redistributors when it comes to increasing the availability of surplus food. Legal protection for suppliers of food, including the charities and organisations distributing surplus food, already exists in the form of the Food Safety Act 1990’s ‘due diligence’ provision. This is designed to balance the protection of the consumer from defective food with the right of suppliers of food not to be convicted of an offence they have taken all reasonable care to avoid committing.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the volume of food donated to food banks arising from "Natasha’s Law" regarding food labelling, which requires allergen labelling on pre-packaged direct sale food.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy.
This was strengthened, for food that is sold prepacked for direct sale, with the introduction of Natasha’s Law in 2021.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) recently conducted an evaluation of the impact of the law. During the evaluation, the FSA spoke to stakeholders including food businesses.
While the evaluation did not focus specifically on food redistribution, it did offer stakeholders the opportunity to discuss their experiences implementing the new law broadly. There was no significant evidence provided in respect of impact on food donations. However, we are clear that, irrespective of how food is distributed, whether for sale or provided free, consumer safety must remain the priority.
Defra and the FSA have worked with WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) to produce comprehensive guidance on surplus food redistribution to help businesses and charities safely and efficiently redistribute surplus and prevent good food going to waste.
The FSA continues to engage with stakeholders regarding the impact of Natasha's Law, to ensure any issues are identified and resolved.