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 reduce pre-consumer plastic waste in supply chains.

The Secretary of State has convened a Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy and asked his Department to work with experts from industry, academia, civil society, and the civil service to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The Strategy will include a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make in particular sectors and value chains; supporting Government’s Missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower.

We will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what further interventions may be needed in the plastics sector as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy.

It’s also worth noting that there is a legal obligation for waste producers to manage their waste, including plastic waste, in accordance with the Waste Hierarchy. The Hierarchy puts waste management options into priority order: prevention, reuse, recycle, recovery (including energy recovery), disposal (landfill). Landfill must always be a last resort.