We share the Government’s ambition to increase recycling and reduce waste. The best way to achieve this is through extended producer responsibility and changes to packaging regulations. Producers, manufacturers and retailers should contribute more towards a circular economy, not local authorities.
Key messages
- Waste and recycling are among the most valued services any council provides. They are used by all council taxpayers and represent the third biggest spend in councils’ budgets. A doubling of spend by councils to £3.28 billion has seen recycling rates improve 400 per cent in the last decade.
- It is positive that 99 per cent of local authorities currently collect plastic bottles. Over half of all councils also provide drop-off points for plastics. Despite these services, only 57 per cent of all plastic bottles consumed in this country are recycled.
- We share the Government’s ambition to increase recycling and reduce waste. The best way to achieve this is through extended producer responsibility and changes to packaging regulations. Producers, manufacturers and retailers should contribute more towards a circular economy, not local authorities.
- Councils are calling for the reform of packaging content. It was encouraging to see measures in the 2018 Budget that support the greater use of recycled plastics in products and packaging. As the recent National Audit Office (NAO) report highlighted, the current system could do more to incentivise producers.
- A survey undertaken by the LGA demonstrates that at least a fifth of councils have felt a direct impact from China’s restrictions on waste imports. v The Government’s upcoming Waste and Resources Strategy is an opportunity to rebalance the burden of recycling costs away from councils and taxpayers, and to address the impact of the China import ban.
Download the full briefing
Debate on the threat to the environment by plastic and the case for improved recycling, House of Lords, 15 November 2018