Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage the public use of reusable face coverings to reduce the potential effect of disposable single-use personal protective equipment on the environment; and if he will make a statement.

While our priority is rightly to protect public health during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this does not dilute our existing commitment to tackling single-use plastics.

We have published guidance on the GOV.UK website on how to correctly dispose of waste during the coronavirus pandemic and how to make, wash and reuse cloth face coverings to prevent and reduce waste. This guidance is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-disposing-of-waste

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering

We have also been circulating these messages widely on social media and urging people not to recycle or litter used PPE and instead to put it in the normal waste bin. We recently released a video highlighting the issue of improperly discarded face coverings and gloves, which encourages people to consider wearing a reusable face covering. This can be found at:

https://twitter.com/DefraGovUK/status/1309045391724351489

We remain committed to eliminating avoidable plastic waste and delivering the manifesto commitment to be a world leader on tackling plastic pollution.