I can assure you that the Government is committed to tackling plastic pollution. In December 2018, the Resources and Waste Strategy for England was published, which sets out how the Government wants to achieve this and move towards a circular economy. Ministers have committed to work towards all plastic packaging on the market being recyclable or reusable by 2025.
Significant progress has already been made to address plastic pollution, including a ban on microbeads and restricting the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds. The use of single-use carrier bags in supermarkets has reduced by over 98 per cent.
Further, restrictions on a range of single-use plastics, including plastic plates, trays, bowls, cutlery, balloon sticks and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers have now come into force. I understand that England uses 2.7 billion items of single-use cutlery and over 700 million single-use plates per year, but only 10 per cent are recycled. This new ban is the next step in cracking down on harmful plastic waste.
In the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, the Government set a target that by 31 January 2028, residual municipal plastic waste in the most recent full calendar year does not exceed 42kg per capita. This is equivalent to a 45% reduction from 2019 levels. Residual municipal waste refers to waste that is sent to landfill, put through incineration, or used in energy recovery in the UK or overseas.
In addition, in 2022 the Government brought in the Plastic Packaging Tax, a tax of more than £200 per tonne on plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into the UK, that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic. This is providing a clear economic incentive for businesses to use recycled plastic in the manufacture of plastic packaging and is helping to create greater demand for this material.
In negotiations of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee at the United Nations Environment Assembly, the UK Government pressed for a combination of international obligations and national measures across the whole plastic lifecycle to ensure that the treaty can adequately address the transboundary nature of plastic pollution. The UK has also supported measures to manage plastic waste in an environmentally sound and safe manner and eliminate the release of plastics, including microplastics, into air, water and land.
Finally, closer to home, I recently visited Thatcham Refillable to learn more about their collection and recycling of tonnes of plastic every year. I commend the number of Plastic Free Champions that have been awarded in the Newbury area. I will continue to look for opportunities to support and raise awareness of businesses that are contributing towards the elimination of unrecyclable plastic packaging in the hope that others will work towards this in West Berkshire.
(March 2024)
