Circular Economy and Elimination of Waste

Earl of Shrewsbury Excerpts

Monday 18th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

The noble Baroness has my commitment on both points. We recognise the problems of waste mountains in numerous countries that cannot or do not manage their waste properly. The Government have already committed to banning the export of plastic waste to countries that are not members of the OECD. In addition, the entire thrust of the Environment Bill that I mentioned earlier is designed to reduce all avoidable and unnecessary waste.

[The Earl of Shrewsbury (Con)]

My Lords, on a related issue, is my noble friend satisfied with the functionality and efficiency of local council waste reception sites? Is he concerned, like me, that many types of waste materials taken to these sites are capable of being recycled—for instance, some plastics, shredded paper and other materials—but they are still being sent to landfill unnecessarily and perhaps in error? Perhaps guidance to the operators needs reviewing.

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

There is no doubt that the recycling infrastructure or approach across the country is mixed. The Government are committed to a 65% recycling target for municipal waste by 2035, which is a significant increase on where we are now. One way in which we will do that is by requiring local authorities and other waste collectors to collect the same core set of recyclable materials—including plastics, but other materials as well—from households and businesses in England from 2023.