Food and Drink: Waste Prevention

Debate between Baroness Wilcox of Newport and Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

Wednesday 17th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park [V]]

I too am very concerned. There are 47,000 pubs across the UK and between them they have around 140 million litres of spoiled beer that needs to be cleared from pub cellars to make way for fresh stock. That is the equivalent of around 56 Olympic swimming pools. However, there are enormous difficulties in disposing of spoiled beer. The main obstacle is that beer containers must be removed from pub cellars, around three-quarters of which are subterranean. Most are designed to allow full containers of beer to roll into the cellar using gravity, and given that each one weighs around 70 kilograms, taking them back out is at least a two-person job. In the current conditions, that obviously presents logistical and health and safety challenges. It may be easier for pubs with street-level cellars to send full containers of beer for repurposing elsewhere. Defra and BEIS are engaging with the BBPA to ensure that pubs are being encouraged to do so. We are actively working on finding alternatives to simply disposing of beer down waste systems.

[Baroness Wilcox of Newport (Lab) [V]]

Since the pandemic began, single-use has increased, with all pubs, restaurants and cafes restricted to takeaway-only. This is being exploited by some companies, which claim that single-use—often single-use plastic—is the safest option. The science does not back that up because the virus can live on single-use surfaces as well as on reusable ones. What is being done to ensure that systems are in place to allow for reuse, recycling or composting and limiting the use of single-use plastic, especially in the light of the pandemic?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park [V]]

This is very much a concern for Defra and it is a priority area. As noble Lords will know, since the 5p charge was introduced, we have reduced the annual use of single-use plastic carrier bags by over 7 billion. We have launched the groundbreaking Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance. From October, there will be a ban on the sale of plastic straws, cotton buds, stirrers and so on. Further, our landmark Environment Bill is designed to shift the emphasis towards producer responsibility. It includes powers to charge for single-use plastic items, introduce deposit return schemes and manage the export of plastic waste.