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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that businesses separate recyclable waste from general waste.

We want to increase the recycling of packaging material, food and other recyclable material in the ‘non-household’ municipal sector, which includes businesses, public organisations (e.g. schools, universities, hospitals and government buildings) and other organisations. This will help us to increase the amount of material that we recycle and reduce the amount of waste that we send to landfill.

Following support in response to initial consultation, the Environment Act 2021 stipulates that all businesses will be required to arrange for the collection of a core set of materials (glass; paper and card; plastic; metal; and food waste) for recycling in England

In 2021 we published a second consultation on recycling consistency. This consultation sought views on increasing consistency in recycling, including on the materials in scope of collection; exemptions; statutory guidance for waste collectors and cost reduction options for micro firms.

We are finalising our policy positions and analysis for impact assessment – we aim to publish the consultation response soon.