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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a waste law that would prevent companies destroying unsold or returned goods.

Businesses are obliged to follow the waste hierarchy, set out in the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011. This gives priority to preventing waste, and only then, in order, to reuse, recycling, recovery and last of all disposal. Failure to comply with this hierarchy can lead to enforcement action.

Last year, we consulted on a new Waste Prevention Programme for England, which includes proposals to further clarify and enhance this approach. We expect to publish the response to this shortly.