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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to restrict the destruction and disposal of unsold stock at Amazon’s Dunfermline warehouse.

Businesses that handle waste, including companies like Amazon, are obliged to follow the waste hierarchy which requires action to prevent waste as the priority option. Failure to meet the legal obligation to take all reasonable steps to apply this can lead to enforcement action. Waste is a devolved matter, and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), the regulator in Scotland, is in contact with Amazon about the stock destruction allegations in Scotland. The Environment Agency, as the responsible enforcement body in England, is working with SEPA on this, and has also written to Amazon about compliance with the waste hierarchy obligations in England.