Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of measures to stimulate demand for recycled material; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

Incentivising recycled content in new products has environmental benefits, and consumers generally have a positive image of products with recycled content.

Working through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), we have developed and delivered a number of activities in support of both the use of recycled materials in new products, and on activities to stimulate its demand. Developing and securing sustainable end markets for recycled materials is key to ensuring the UK meets its statutory recycling targets and supports growth of the waste reprocessing sector. For example, recycled bottle plastic now has a number of end markets, including “back to bottles” and plastic packaging such as trays, as well as its more traditional end market of fibre.

We have significant ongoing work in the area, including the delivery of the Plastics Industry Recycling Action Plan. This includes projects on design for recyclability and development of suitable end markets for plastic recyclate; and the coordinated development and delivery of a Food Waste Recycling Action Plan by industry and Local Authorities to disseminate and promote current research and best practice to increase the supply and quality of household and commercial food waste to the food waste recycling industry.