Recommendation 5

The Department has not yet set out the waste infrastructure capacity it expects will be needed in England to meet its ambitions, which makes it more difficult for the private sector to make informed investment decisions. It is clear that stakeholders responsible for investing in the necessary new recycling infrastructure need more certainty, clarity and granularity about the Department’s long-term policies on resource and waste management. Without this there is a risk of insufficient facilities to deal with the increased volumes of recycling arising from the reforms, and the packaging will be disposed of by incineration or sending to landfill, or exported for other countries to deal with. The Department plans to publish an infrastructure plan imminently, to set out a vision of where waste will be coming from, providing more confidence to invest in waste infrastructure. Recommendation 5: a) We expect the Department to have published its planned waste infrastructure plan before its Treasury minute response, but if this does not happen it should explain why not, and update the Committee on when it expects this will be published. b) The Department should consult with key stakeholders after publication about whether this gives them sufficient clarity to make informed investment decisions, and write to the Committee to explain how it will address any outstanding gaps this highlights.