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 help reduce the use of plastic.

This Government has already taken a number of steps to help reduce the use of plastic. We have banned the supply of single-use vapes, effective from 1 June 2025. From this date onwards all vapes sold in the UK must be rechargeable and refillable. We have also legislated to ban the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic in England, marking a major step forward in tackling the plastic and microplastic pollution which harms our waterways.

This Government is also committed to moving to a circular economy for plastics, reducing our reliance on virgin materials and prioritising principles of reduction, reuse, and recycling, to keep resources within the economy, rather than increasing production of virgin materials and injecting additional resources.

We are finalising the Circular Economy Growth Plan and intend to publish it soon. The Plan will set out how Government will deliver a more circular and more prosperous economy.