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

To ask His Majesty's Government what further steps they are taking to increase the speed with which businesses reduce their use of plastic packaging and eliminate unnecessary waste.

This Government is committed to moving to a circular economy – a future where we keep our resources in use for longer, waste is reduced, we accelerate the path to net zero, we see investment in critical infrastructure and green jobs, our economy prospers, and nature thrives.

Alongside the delivery of the Collection and Packaging Reforms, this Government is currently considering further actions that can be taken to address the challenges associated with plastic packaging. As we develop our Circular Economy Strategy for England, we will consider the evidence for action from right across the economy and evaluate what interventions may be needed.

The Government also funds the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), who run the UK Plastics Pact. Pact members cover the entire plastics value chain and are responsible for the majority of plastic packaging sold through UK supermarkets, and approximately two thirds of the total plastic packaging placed on the UK market. Since 2018, members of the Pact have increased the average recycled content in their packaging from 8.5% to 26%.