To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to encourage more consistent waste collection policies across local authorities.
Answered on
1 February 2019
The Government set out its commitment to accelerating the move to consistency in materials collected for recycling in the 25 Year Environment Plan which was published in January 2018. Our resources and waste strategy ‘Our Waste, Our Resources: A Strategy for England’ was published in December 2018 and contains details on how we plan to do this. Subject to consultation we will legislate to allow Government to specify a core set of materials to be collected by all local authorities and waste operators. We will consult on which materials should comprise this core set, and which collection systems would be most effective at preserving material quality.
The Government is committed to making recycling easier for everyone. Consistency in recycling will mean that householders in England will be less confused about what can be recycled and therefore have more confidence in recycling. As a result, both the quality and quantity of recycling will increase.