Plans to reduce waste and establish an ambitious long-term
path for waste management and recycling across the UK
have been published
today(Thursday 30 July).
In the latest step in government efforts to tackle waste,
the Circular Economy
Package sets a target to recycle 65% of municipal waste
by 2035 and to have no more than 10% municipal waste going
to landfill by 2035.
It restricts the materials which can be landfilled or
incinerated, and includes a requirement that waste which is
separately collected for recycling must not be incinerated
or sent to landfill. This paves the way for more recyclable
materials to be kept in circulation within the resources
and waste system, instead of being burned or buried.
The Circular Economy Package builds on the government’s
landmark Resources
and Waste Strategy, which ensures we go further and
faster to reduce, reuse and recycle more of our resources.
Environment Minister said:
We are committed to increasing our recycling rates and
reducing the amount of waste that is sent to landfill to
create a cleaner waste industry and reduce carbon
emissions.
Through our landmark Environment Bill we will be bringing
forward a raft of measures to do just that, and this new
Circular Economy Package takes us yet another step
forward to transforming our waste industry.
The Circular Economy Package, which will come into law
later this year, is an important part of the Government’s
existing commitment to move towards a more circular economy
and reach Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The UK is already a global leader, with our Resources and
Waste Strategysetting out our comprehensive and
ambitious plan to transform our waste industry and produce
a more circular economy by going further and faster to
reduce, reuse and recycle more of our resources.
This includes having a consistent set of recyclable
materials for collection in England, no matter which part
of the country people live in; a deposit return
scheme (DRS) for single-use drinks containers to
increase recycling rates and tackle litter; and an Extended
Producer Responsibility (EPR) system which sees industry
paying higher fees if their packaging is harder to reuse or
recycle.
Legislated for through our landmark Environment
Bill, these measures will help drive up recycling
levels and decrease the amount of waste being sent to
landfill. We are also committed to introducing a new world-leading
tax for businesses which produce or import plastic
packaging that does not contain at least 30% recycled
content. This is subject to further consultation
currently taking place.
