Select committee: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Conclusion 1
Third Report - The price of plastic: ending the toll of plastic waste
Published 7 Nov 2022
Paragraph 23
Addressed to Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Plastic waste All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Despite progress in reducing the use of some problematic plastics and plastic products and creating an uplift in recycled content in new plastic production, progress in tackling plastic waste appears to have slowed in recent years. Current initiatives are clearly not driving progress as effectively as possible. Some of the definitions and metrics for the targets driving change need to be improved to make them: clearer and less ambiguous; more ambitious and measurable; and more reflective of the waste hierarchy with a strong focus on reducing the amount of plastic waste created in the first place. However, with this focus comes the need to ensure that plastics are not replaced by possibly more impactful materials as plastic usage is reduced in the future.
From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Third Report - The price of plastic: ending the toll of plastic waste (HC 22), paragraph 23, 7 November 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 27 January 2023 (deadline 7 January 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with the Committee on the importance of the waste hierarchy and on reuse, but disagrees with several recommendations, including dropping the qualifier "avoidable" from the 2042 plastic waste target and a ban on all plastic waste exports.
- It agrees that more use of reusable packaging is desirable and intends to "come forward with our proposals in 2024" on measures such as targets, obligations and whether there is a role for modulating fees.
- It disagrees with an exit strategy for the Packaging Waste Recovery Note system within a year of EPR starting, because it wants "to make sure we put the right measures in place at the right time".
- It disagrees with modulating the Plastic Packaging Tax, saying the 30% recycled content threshold is "ambitious", and keeps the rate and threshold "under review". Changes are a matter for Treasury Ministers.
- It disagrees with a ban on all plastic waste exports, expecting "legitimate exports to continue", and has committed to banning exports of plastic waste to non-OECD countries.