Responding to two parliamentary questions, minister for resources and waste Trudy Harrison MP said the Government want to set an Environment Act 2021 target that ensures a “holistic view” to waste.
In her response, Harrison said the Government will contribute to reducing single-use plastic waste by introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers and extended producer responsibility (EPR) for plastic packaging.
A day after new PM Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle – which saw Thérèse Coffey appointed Defra secretary – Trudy Harrison has answered 2 parliamentary questions asking whether the Government is planning to introduce targets to reduce plastic.
Beth Winter MP asked if Defra plans to bring forward legislative proposals to set a target for the reduction of the use of single-use plastic by 50% by 2025. While Claire Hanna MP asked if the Secretary of State would make it their policy to introduce a specific plastic reduction target under the Environment Act 2021.
Harrison wrote: “We have no plans to set a target for the reduction in single-use plastic. We want to set an Environment Act 2021 target in the area of resource efficiency and waste reduction that ensures a holistic view to waste and reduces waste overall.”
We want to set a target in the area of resource efficiency and waste reduction that ensures a holistic view to waste and reduces waste overall.
The Conservative MP for Copeland continued that the Government believes that setting a “wider reaching” target that encompasses plastics as well as other materials will achieve the best environmental outcome as it will prevent switching to other materials which could have a greater environmental impact.
“To address the significant public concern towards plastic waste, HM Government is taking a range of measures that will contribute to reducing single-use plastic waste, including introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers and extended producer responsibility for plastic packaging.
“We also plan to publish HM Government’s response on our consultation to restrict further the number of single-use plastics placed on the market.”
She went on to highlight that the Government has recently consulted upon a proposed Environment Act target to cut residual waste kg per capita by 50% by 2042 from 2019 levels and received 180,000 responses.
Finally, Harrison reaffirmed that the Government “remains committed” to the Environment Act 2021, and will publish “ambitious, achievable, and robust” targets soon.