Waste and resources minister Rebecca Pow has said the government will be publishing its response to the consultation on consistency in household and business recycling in England “shortly”.
Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) minster Rebecca Pow made the comments in a response to a question by Gareth Bacon, Conservative MP for Orpington Commons, on 25 July 2023. Bacon asked what was Defra’s reason for not yet publishing the results of the consultation and her department’s response, as well as when Pow expects to do so.
Pow said the response will confirm implementation dates and materials in scope for consistent collection, as well as the government’s consultation on statutory guidance.
Due to the large scope of the consultation, we wanted to carefully analyse the responses before making key policy decisions.
Rebecca Pow, Conservative MP for Taunton Deane, wrote: “We received 896 responses to this consultation. Due to the large scope of the consultation, we wanted to carefully analyse the responses before making key policy decisions.
“Given the scale of change that will be required by this package of reforms, we must ensure we take the time to get them right so they will be as effective as possible in achieving our objectives.”
Consistent collections delays
Earlier this year (2023), the BBC reported new consistent waste collection rules in England had been delayed until after the local elections on 4 May. The new policy was expected to be made public in February, almost two years after the initial consultation on waste consistency.
Local authorities have previously warned that the UK government’s plans to introduce consistent waste collections across councils in England could be “chaotic and unworkable”.
This month (August) CIWM (Chartered Institution of Wastes Management) released a position statement in support of the principle of a core set of materials being collected from all households and businesses.
