1 February 2023 – In November 2022, the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee published the recommendation for their plastic waste report. Now the Government has published its response.
The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has looked into how the UK should deal with the plastic waste it produces.
The cross-party committee consists of MPs from the Conversvative Party, Labour and the SNP. Its function is to scrutinise the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and any bodies associated with it.
The plastic waste report was published back in November 2022. But the Government has now published its response to the report’s recommendations. Some of which were disappointing.
The Challenge Of Plastic Waste
The committee recognised that plastic is a versatile material that has many advantages such as being lightweight and durable. It is part of our lives and can be found everywhere.
But this has also meant that we have become so reliant on plastic, and it’s estimated that we produce 380 million tonnes every year worldwide. And production will continue to grow due to the high demand.
Because most plastic we use is single-use, we also produce a huge amount of plastic waste. Figures published by the Government suggest that the UK produced over 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2021, according to the committee’s report.
Disposal of plastic is a big problem, because its durability means that it’s often either incinerated or ends up in landfill. Burning plastic releases carbon emissions.
Plastic that has been sent to landfill, or is littered, breaks down into micro- or nano-plastics, which find their way everywhere, even into the human body.
The impact these tiny plastic pieces have on our environment and the health of animals and humans is very concerning, so the report says.
Recognising the benefits of plastic, the UK Government aims at creating a more circular economy, where materials are reused rather than disposed of. The committee said that the Government has also signed up to global commitments to create a circular economy for plastics.
With these challenges in mind, the work of the committee aimed at:
- Establishing what measures the UK Government should take to reduce the production and disposal of single-use plastic and assess if any policies already announced are sufficient.
- Ascertain how plastic-alternatives should be identified and supported.
- Assess the Goverment target to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2042 to see if it’s ambitious enough.
- Examine if the Government’s target of all plastic packaging on the market being recyclable by 2025 is achievable.
- Look into whether the Government should do more to ensure plastic waste is not exported and then managed unsustainably and what steps need to be taken.
The committee will also scrutinise if the Government is delivering on its target to create a circular economy for plastic waste.
After deliberating these aims for months, the committee has published recommendations for the Government, which will help it to achieve its goals.
The Government’s Response
While the Goverment agrees with many of the recommendations set out in the plastic waste report, it also disagrees with some.
One recommendation the Government disagrees with is to drop the qualifier “avoidable” in the target to eliminate plastic waste by 2042. The reason given is that only if the goal is clearly defined, will it be possible to achieve that all plastic waste is reused, recycled or composted by the given deadline.
But the Government pleads the need to remain realistic, saying that it’s inevitable that there will be a small amount of plastic waste that can’t be kept in circulation. As an example, they provide medical settings.
The committee also recommends that the threshold for financial obligation under the Extended Producer Responsibility is lowered. Currently, plastic producers have to pay for the disposal if they place 5 tonnes or more of plastic on the market. The recommended threshold by 2030 is 1 tonne.
In its response, the Government said that it disagrees, as it doesn’t want to burden smaller producers.
Another recommendation not accepted by the Government was the call for a ban on all exports of UK plastic waste by the end of 2027. The committee said that it is just not possible to ensure that all the country’s plastic waste is dealt with appropriately as long as it is exported.
A ban would also encourage investment in domestic recycle infrastructure, which would provide jobs. But while the Government aims to reduce the amounts that are exported, it will not ban it completely. Only to countries which are not members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The committee chair has expressed his disappointment at the Government’s refusal to accept all recommendations in the plastic waste report.
It’s a shame the government has turned down recommendations from the Committee’s long running and carefully considered inquiry.
Sir Robert Goodwill MP, Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
