Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with cigarette manufacturers on eliminating plastic in cigarette butts.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government published the Resources and Waste Strategy last year, setting out our plans to reduce, reuse and recycle more plastic than we do now. Our target is to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste throughout the life of the 25 Year Environment Plan, but for the most problematic plastics we are going faster.
We pledged £20 million to the Plastics Research and Innovation Fund which aims to reduce the environmental costs of plastic and litter. Our sights are set on problematic plastics such as cigarette filters which contain single-plastic polymers and blight our streets and seas. The fund will seek to deliver strategic networking and research that will coordinate existing knowledge across the UK, catalysing new ideas and rapid solutions.
Ministers have met twice with the Tobacco Manufacturers Association in the last three years, but the Government has not held discussions with any individual tobacco companies about eliminating plastic in cigarette butts.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that no products linked to Amazon deforestation are sold in the UK.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK Government is committed to supporting deforestation-free supply chains as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan.
To address the footprint of products linked to deforestation, such as soya and beef, we have established the Global Resource Initiative (GRI). Led by a taskforce comprising of senior representatives from the private sector and civil society, the GRI will produce a set of recommendations in early 2020 to address the impact of the UK’s commodity supply chains. These recommendations may relate to regulatory and policy measures, transparency, financial incentives, trade, sustainable procurement and/or the role of the consumer. To address issues in relation to soya specifically, we have established the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya which has recently led to 83% of the UK retail market publishing concrete sourcing policies to deliver sustainable soya to the UK market.
The Government works in partnership with countries in the Amazon to tackle deforestation and has invested nearly £120 million through the UK’s International Climate Finance on projects to support sustainable agriculture, prevent forest fires and implement the Forest Code in the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes. Following the Amazon fires the UK has pledged a further £10 million to protect and restore the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of obligating all retailers to ensure that the packaging of products they sell can be recycled locally before stocking those products.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has recently consulted on a package of measures to overhaul the waste and recycling system, including proposed reforms to the packaging producer responsibility system which will incentivise producers, including retailers, to make better, more sustainable decisions when designing and using packaging including using packaging that can be easily recycled. This consultation also proposed a mandatory UK-wide labelling scheme that provides clear information to help people to recycle, and improved communication campaigns funded by packaging producers to help consumers to know what and how to recycle. We will take primary powers in the Environment Bill to enable us to implement new extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems.
In addition, we have consulted on measures to achieve greater consistency in recycling provision across England, so that there is less confusion over how the packaging that retailers do sell can be recycled. The measures in both consultations will be implemented in 2023 and will be complimentary.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the British Horseracing Authority on changes to reduce the death rate of horses.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Slough on 4 July 2019, PQ 263251. Since then Defra officials have met the British Horseracing Authority and will continue to do so, to ensure actions to improve horserace welfare are maintained.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to ban the (a) production and (b) use of polystyrene plastic packaging in the UK.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Packaging materials, including polystyrene, are already covered by the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations which place a legal obligation on businesses that make or use packaging to ensure that a proportion of the packaging they sell is recovered and recycled. This creates an incentive for companies to use less packaging and to ensure that their packaging can be recycled at end of life as it will reduce their costs in complying with the Regulations.
In general, we prefer to help people and companies make the right choice, rather than banning items outright. We have, however, recently consulted on changes to the packaging producer responsibility scheme, looking at all aspects of the regime including mechanisms to encourage increased recyclability.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that no products linked to Amazon deforestation are sold in the UK.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to ban the (a) production and (b) use of polystyrene plastic packaging in the UK.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people prosecuted for illegal waste exports in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of obligating all retailers to ensure that the packaging of products sold can be recycled locally before stocking those products.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of sea-bed mining on the ocean ecosystem.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
I refer my Hon Friend to the reply previously given on July 29 to PQ 277681.