Lord Blencathra
Main Page: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Lord Blencathra (Con)
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baronesses who have taken part in today’s debate. It is important that we reflect on both the importance of the recycling targets and the current situation we find ourselves in. Only if we reflect on both will we be able to reach our targets sustainably.
This debate was founded on Conservative principles and initiatives—principally, recycling targets, waste reduction, and our pragmatic and conservatist goals. Practically, the Conservatives have a good track record of creating and supporting recycling initiatives. In 2018, the Government of my noble friend Lady May of Maidenhead began funding the UK Plastics Pact, which was created with the aim of eliminating problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging. UK Plastics Pact members now cover the entire UK plastics value chain and are part of an initiative being continued by the current Government. I congratulate them on that.
In 2020, we implemented a single-use plastic ban. The result of that is that our beaches have seen significant reductions in littering, plastic stemmed cotton buds dropped out of the UK’s top 10 most littered items, and we reached our lowest littering level in 28 years. That is tangible evidence of progress being made in achieving recycling targets. I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, that I would not scoff at these little things—they had a big impact. Getting rid of millions of those little plastic buds was a rather good success.
Last year, the Government set a statutory target to ensure that the total mass of residual waste does not exceed 287 kilograms per person by 2042—residual waste that contains plastic and is sent to landfill or incinerators. This was accompanied by a plastic-specific residual municipal waste target for 2027. If achieved, this would mark a 50% decrease from 2019.
In addition, we introduced the simpler recycling scheme in May last year, requiring firms to separate different types of recycling. The current Government saw the advantages of our approach and have continued and even extended the proposal to microfirms.
The previous Conservative Government were committed to reducing plastic waste within the bounds of our capabilities. We set target upon target; we matched them with regulations and produced guidance to make sure they were achievable. I am glad that the current Government have continued to build on Conservative targets and initiative. I am less glad, however, that they have not based their approach on the same Conservative principles of acting within our means. At the end of the previous Government, unemployment was below 5%. Inflation was at the target of 2%. The fact that the economy was relatively prosperous, compared with the current day, enabled us to take the pragmatic approach that the Government now attempt to copy.
Unfortunately, the Government do not have the luxury of a Conservative-run economy. Regulations such as the simpler recycling scheme work when businesses are doing well. They work when margins are wide enough for businesses to afford the extra costs that come with government intervention. They do not work when the number of payrolled employees is falling by 20,000 a month, as is currently happening, and when businesses—especially small businesses—are hammered with tax increases that they inevitably must pass on to employees or consumers to stay afloat.
I regret to say that it is therefore not the time to implement a host of new regulations that burden businesses with new costs. Extending our simpler recycling scheme is welcome in theory but should be opposed in practice. Not only will it impose an extra administrative burden on microfirms at a time when they can least afford it, but it is overly cumbersome. One misplaced bit of waste and an entire batch of recycling is ruined. That is not efficient enough for a system that aims to eliminate unnecessary plastics. In fact, the Confederation of Paper Industries says that it takes only one dirty pizza box in a whole bin to ruin a whole binload of paper recycling. We have already heard from the noble Baronesses that similarly contaminated plastic bottles can ruin a whole consignment of plastic.
The noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, voiced concerns about the speed of implementation. She wants it to go faster. My concern is that the Government are seeking to implement things too quickly. UKHospitality and the British Soft Drinks Association have voiced their concerns about the scale and speed of implementation. They are worried it will be another anti-growth measure brought in by the Government.
It has taken Germany 30 years to slowly build up its deposit return scheme. It was only two years ago, after being at it for 28 years, that Germany introduced glass to it. The current Government are trying to do in three years what it took Germany 30 years to do. I have no criticism of the Government if they must go past their 2027 deadline, because they are trying to do too much too quickly, which will be damaging to industry.
We know that those who create growth and the conditions to implement these green initiatives are those who create jobs and enterprise. They need the right regulations around them—those that do not overburden them and allow them to comply with the plastic regulations that we all want to implement. Individual regulations seem to have merit, but simpler recycling, deposit return and EPR responsibilities, if collectively implemented at the same time, will impose too many regulations at too high a cost. Individually, they are all good things but introducing them all together could be damaging.
The UN treaty and a question about the Government’s position on it have been raised. I am afraid that we will never get a unanimous United Nations treaty on this, and it is not necessary. It will be blocked by the oil-producing countries. I understand that about 130 user countries, including us and others, are looking to reduce plastic waste. The Government should continue to ignore attempts to create a United Nations treaty signed by all and instead work with those 130 countries that want to reduce plastic waste. It is in our power to do so. This is rather like the United States complaining, “Could South America please stop sending all the drugs to the States that our people are using?”, instead of saying to Americans, “Stop using drugs and there’ll be no market for South America to send them to”. If we, the user countries of plastic, use less plastic products, then so what if Saudi Arabia and others want to pump out more oil? They will have no one to sell it to—or they will not be able to sell as much. There is certain logic in what I suggest.
Keeping within our plastic targets is a noble goal and should be adhered to as much as we can, but it must not come at the expense of business and enterprise. I am grateful that the Government intend to continue this goal, but I hope they do so prudently and carefully. I look forward to hearing what reforms and adjustments the Government intend to make to reflect the current economic landscape.
Lord Katz (Lab)
I was going to give some examples of schemes for reusables, although I might have to write on the details of the metrics. A good example of a reusable plastic cups scheme already operating in a closed environment setting is the one launched in 2023 at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, operated by Re-universe. Noble Lords may be familiar with it. A customer pays a deposit of £2 per cup for takeaway drinks and, when the cups are returned to designated bins—it is a vending machine-style facility—the deposit is refunded to the customer. The scheme has saved 400,000 single-use coffee cups from disposal since it was launched in 2023. Using these cups just three times renders them carbon negative compared to single-use alternatives. It has saved Blenheim Palace £45,000 annually by eliminating the need to purchase single-use cups.
More anecdotally, when I went to visit my club—Tottenham Hotspur—a couple of weekends ago, it was using a reusable cup scheme. Drinks are given out in plastic cups which are returned and can be washed and reused. It saves money and is good for the planet.
I have run over a little, but I shall endeavour to answer a couple of outstanding questions from the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, and the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, on the global plastics treaty. Although the meeting to discuss the treaty did not result in agreement on a treaty, the UK joined more than 80 countries in making clear the weight of support for an ambitious and effective treaty. The UK was one of 100 countries to support the global target to reduce the production of primary plastic polymers to sustainable numbers. Of course, the UK will continue to work with its partners in the High Ambition Coalition and other countries to reach an ambitious agreement at the next negotiating session.
Lord Blencathra (Con)
I neglected to say that I should congratulate the Defra officials—that is, the British team, under both the previous Government and this Government—on the superb job they have been doing on the UN treaty. We are regarded as one of the finest advocates for reducing plastic use, and that needs to be put on the record. We did a good job. The fact that we do not have a treaty is not the fault of any British Government or Defra officials.
Lord Katz (Lab)
I am grateful to the noble Lord for that; he has pre-empted my vote of thanks to the negotiating teams. I am glad about, and welcome, his recognition of our intent, the quality of the people involved and the thought we put into the negotiation process.
The noble Baroness, Lady Miller, touched on the issue of Camber Sands and bio-bead spills. This was obviously an awful event. As somebody who enjoys the natural environment of the south coast’s beaches as much as anyone, I thought it terrible to see the impact of this spill. The Government have supported industry-led initiatives such as Operation Clean Sweep to promote good practice in pellet loss prevention.
I cannot speak in more detail about the different kinds of sewage processing that the noble Baroness mentioned. If I recall correctly, a record level of investment from the water companies—around £100 billion—has been secured by Ofwat for the next period. That is exactly the sort of investment, in not just pipes but processing sewage, that will lead to the transition we want to see away from bio-beads and towards sludge.
We inherited years of underinvestment in recycling infrastructure, but the foundations are now firmly in place. Through simpler recycling, extending producer responsibility for packaging, the deposit return scheme and the plastic packaging tax, we have created a comprehensive framework that will drive substantial increases in plastic recycling rates while stimulating investment, creating jobs and supporting our transition to a circular economy. We are committed to ending the throwaway society, delivering on our plan for change and ensuring that Britain leads the world in sustainable resource management.