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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on the recycling of glass fibre boats.

In our manifesto, the Government committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy. A circular economy is a system that decouples economic activity from new resource extraction, using a systemic approach across the full material and product lifecycle to maintain the value of our resources for as long as possible. Recycling has a role to play in the circular economy, but where possible the approach will mean moving materials and products further up the waste hierarchy by encouraging better design, reuse and repair.

The UK is leading action under the OSPAR Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter to improve the management of end-of-life recreational vessels. The OSPAR Convention is the Regional Seas Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic. This includes work with other Contracting Parties: to develop a methodology to estimate the quantity, distribution and material composition of these vessels; to collate an inventory of end-of-life vessels; and to develop guidance to support their waste management.

The UK also commissioned Resource Futures to undertake research to inform policy development to discourage abandonment and improve waste management of end-of-life recreational vessels, focused on establishing volume, location and type of materials in the waste stream and understanding current disposal options and barriers in the UK and across the OSPAR Maritime Area. This research is published online: Marine litter from end of life recreational vessels - ME5247.