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 proportion of residual waste sent to landfill, incineration and transfer stations that could have been recycled in England in 2020.

The proportion of residual waste sent to landfill, incineration and transfer stations that could have been recycled in England in 2020 is not available.

Reporting of waste and recycling data for Local Authorities in England for the year 2020, while subject to delays due to Covid 19, will not be complete until later in 2021.

However, it will not be possible to provide detailed information on the amount of waste in the residual waste stream that could be recycled as data on waste arisings are not structured around the material composition of waste streams.

The Resources and Waste Strategy set out the government's intention to introduce three major waste reforms; consistency in recycling, extended producer responsibility and a deposit return scheme. These commitments will be delivered through the Environment Bill and will ensure that less recyclable waste will be sent to landfill or incineration in the future.

In October 2020 as part of the Circular Economy Package we legislated to include a permit condition for landfill and incineration operators, meaning they cannot accept separately collected paper, metal, glass or plastic for landfill or incineration unless it has gone through some form of treatment process first and is the best environmental outcome.