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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department plans to issue to Material Recovery Facilities to ensure consistent sorting standards.

Defra does not plan to issue specific guidance on sorting requirements for Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs).

We are working with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and waste industry representatives to support MRF readiness for the Simpler Recycling requirements. We have engaged with MRF operators and local authorities through WRAP’s MRF Forum to identify challenges with MRF capacity, investment and upgrade timelines, and to work with the sector to identify interventions to support MRFs as they prepare for Simpler Recycling. WRAP is developing interventions to support local authorities with the procurement of new MRF contracts, determine the potential future composition of dry mixed recyclable waste streams and the associated financial implications.

Those MRF operators engaged with us are aware of their obligations and are working hard to upgrade their facilities to ensure they can separate the target materials as required by Simpler Recycling.