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 circular economy approaches to reduce the demand of raw primary materials.

The Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy published in December 2018, sets out how we will reduce the demand for primary raw materials by moving from a make, take and throw society towards a more circular economy. It adopts a holistic approach covering the full product lifecycle from production, to consumption, to end of life.

To keep products in circulation for longer we are taking steps through the Environment Bill, seeking powers to: require products to be designed to be durable, repairable, and recyclable; require provision of information as to products in that respect; and use extended producer responsibility schemes in a way that incentivises more resource efficient design.

The Environment Bill also includes powers to enable us to deliver on other commitments in the Strategy which will improve the quantity and quality of the materials we recycle. These include commitments on extended producer responsibility; implementation of a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers; and introduction of consistent recycling collections across the country. Government is also taking steps to directly reduce demand for primary materials through a new tax on plastic packaging - from April 2022, manufacturers and importers will be charged £200 per tonne on packaging made of less than 30% recycled content.

To make further progress with taking action up the waste hierarchy, we are developing proposals, on which we will consult, for a new Waste Prevention Programme for England, aimed at supporting reuse, repair, and remanufacture.