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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to ensure that the UK meets the EU target to reuse and recycle 50 per cent of household waste by 2020.

The UK Recycling rate has increased from 11% at the turn of the century to 44.9% now. This increase is thanks in large part to the hard work of local authorities and householders to recycle more.

The Government is committed to meeting the EU target to increase the preparing for reuse or recycling of wastes from households to 50% by 2020 and we regularly review progress to achieving this.

Local authorities are best placed to determine the most appropriate waste collection and recycling services in their area and we work closely with them and the Waste and Recycling Action Programme (WRAP) to promote best practice and to increase the quantity and quality of material collected for recycling.