To ask Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to reduce the use of plastics during the remainder of the UK's COP presidency.
Answered on
1 December 2021
Tackling plastic pollution was a priority before our COP presidency, and will continue to be after it concludes. The single-use carrier bag charge has led to a 95% reduction in the consumption of these bags in the main supermarkets- and earlier this year we extended it to all retailers. We are consulting right now on plans to go further, and extend restrictions on single-use plastics to plates, cutlery and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers. In April 2022, we will introduce the plastic packaging tax – significantly incentivising plastic recycling. The world-leading Environment Act will allow us to do more still – with Extended Producer Responsibility schemes to ensure polluters pay, Deposit Return schemes to cut littering and boost plastic bottle recycling, and Consistent Collections to make recycling plastic, and other materials, easier for householders. Taken together, this is an exciting and comprehensive package of measures to make a real and lasting difference.