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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the (a) closure and (b) lack of capacity of producer compliance schemes for fridges and freezers on local authorities, including the need for them to meet the cost of such disposals.

Defra is working with stakeholders to monitor the situation and support industry to develop solutions.

The Environment Agency has published a Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) to allow temporary storage. Producer Compliance Schemes should work with councils and treatment facilities to identify appropriate sites and come to arrangements over the costs.