Councils have been successful in establishing recycling infrastructure and services. 99 per cent of local authorities currently collect plastic bottles, and over half (52 per cent) provide drop off points for plastics.
Key messages
- Councils have been successful in establishing recycling infrastructure and services. 99 per cent of local authorities currently collect plastic bottles, and over half (52 per cent) provide drop off points for plastics. 77 per cent of councils collect pots, tubs and trays in kerbside recycling.
- We welcomed the Resources and Waste Strategy in December 2018 and the follow up consultations which were published in February 2019. We are pleased the Government has listened to councils and outlined plans to ensure businesses and manufacturers cover the full cost of recycling and disposing of their packaging. We recently highlighted that councils would like to see more measures which encourage the packaging industry to reduce the amount of unrecyclable material it produces.
- The consultation on the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is positive. To be successful the proposals should work alongside kerbside recycling and not be seen as an alternative to it.
- While councils are playing their part when it comes to improving recycling rates with waste collection services diverting millions of tonnes of waste from landfill every year, we understand that more needs to be done to meet national targets and raise standards.
- Any changes to local authority waste services and additional cost burdens to councils must be fully funded. This is why the upcoming Spending Review must lay out plans to bridge the £8 billion local authority funding gap by 2025, so councils can continue to improve recycling services.
Download the full briefing:
Debate on plastics recycling, House of Commons, 23 April 2019