Draft Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026

Maria Eagle Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2026 General Committees

[Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr Vickers. I thank the Minister for introducing the draft regulations to the Committee.

It is good to see the Government building on the progress made by the previous Conservative Government, who laid the foundation for digital waste tracking to be introduced by passing the landmark Environment Act 2021. Additional measures introduced by the Conservatives that sought to tackle waste crime include increasing the upper limit for fixed penalties to ensure proportionate and effective enforcement action. The previous Government also provided 30 local authorities with grants to enhance resources to tackle fly-tipping. The grants supported a range of projects such as CCTV, anti-climb fencing and better waste infrastructure.

[Maria Eagle (Liverpool Garston) (Lab)]

Does the hon. Gentleman have any insight into why the previous Government did not follow through and actually implement the regulations they consulted on?

[Dr Hudson]

I am very proud of the previous Conservative Government passing the landmark Environment Act. We consulted and brought forward measures to tackle waste crime, and I am very pleased that the Labour Government have taken the baton forward and are enacting some of the measures that we started.

Sadly, my constituents have also been faced with the blight of fly-tipping in our communities, with many serious cases caused by shameless criminals who should face the full extent of the law. It not only harms communities and the environment, but threatens the precious wildlife and biodiversity that the forest of Epping Forest is so privileged to enjoy. I must pay tribute to the litter-picking groups across Epping Forest, including the Waltham Abbey community group and Theydon Bois parish council, who regularly roll up their sleeves to fight the scourge of waste carelessly dumped. I have had the pleasure of joining that fantastic community in action on many occasions.

When I have joined community groups on litter picks, it has been particularly concerning to see an abundance of discarded large nitrous oxide canisters. They are used illegally for drug misuse and then discarded on the side of roads to be cleared up by those who do the right thing. Any activity to clear up waste, such as the measure we are discussing, needs to address this issue as a priority for urban, rural and semi-rural communities alike. Can the Minister outline what steps the Government are taking to tackle the illegal use of nitrous oxide and the damaging discarding of those dangerous canisters in our environment?

I welcome the cross-party support for tackling waste crime. Not only does it cost the English economy about £1 billion a year, but it has become interlinked with criminal gangs who profit from breaking the law. We should all be deeply concerned that an estimated 20% of all waste is illegally managed. Importantly, the regulations have the full co-operation of the devolved Administrations, which is vital to ensure that we have an effective regime that works for waste operators.

As the Minister will be aware, the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee noted that the Government need to clarify exactly how the digital waste tracking regime will interact with the new extended producer responsibility —she made some comments on that point. Under the packaging scheme, producers will have to pay the costs of dealing with household packaging waste and provide information about its disposal. I hope she can provide further clear and practical information on that, particularly as many businesses have expressed strong concerns about the timing of the implementation of the EPR regime, which will add costs to businesses when the Chancellor is already taxing them hugely and making their lives very difficult.

The Minister might be aware that His Majesty’s most loyal Opposition hosted a food and farming emergency summit last year to which key stakeholders, including food producers, were invited. A key demand from that summit was a call for the Government to conduct a rapid review of EPR for the food, drink and hospitality sectors. The shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins), wrote to the Government to ask them to act on that. It was disappointing that the Government did not consider the merit of such a request from the businesses directly affected by the policy.

Ministers are always keen to emphasise their desire to transition to a circular economy in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract maximum value from them, minimise waste and promote resource efficiency. That goal is shared by all. However, aside from introducing individual measures here and there, the Government have yet to publish their clear circular economy strategy. As I understand it, the circular economy taskforce was established for the very purpose of creating a strategy. Will the Minister clarify when she anticipates further details will be published?