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 support local authorities increase their recycling rates.

The Government is committed to increasing both the quality and quantity of materials collected for recycling and making recycling easier for everyone. The Environment Bill, which has been introduced in Parliament, introduces legislation so that from 2023, all collectors of waste must collect a core set of materials from households, businesses and other organisations such as schools. The core set will be plastic, glass, metal, paper and card, food and garden waste. By collecting the same core set of materials there will be less confusion among householders and others about what they can put in their recycling bins. As a result, the amount of materials that local authorities collect for recycling will increase.

We want to work closely with local authorities to help them improve their recycling performance. We will therefore provide guidance and examples of good practice. We also work with them on developing a framework of non-binding performance indicators to help identify which local authorities require extra support to improve their recycling performance.