Asked by Lord Dubs To ask Her Majesty’s Government what
action they plan to take to reduce the amount of plastic used in
packaging for food, drink and other consumer items. The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Gardiner of Kimble) (Con) My
Lords, the Government have...Request free trial
Asked by
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Gardiner of
Kimble) (Con)
My Lords, the Government have been working with WRAP, the
Ellen MacArthur Foundation and industry to develop the UK
plastics pact, announced last week. The pact seeks to
eliminate single-use plastic packaging by 2025 and ensure
that 100% of plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or
compostable. In addition, government and industry are
investing in research on plastics innovation and the
development of more-sustainable products.
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(Lab)
My Lords, I think the Minister will agree that it is no
exaggeration to say that we are poisoning our planet. Will
he confirm that 70% of the rubbish on Britain’s beaches is
plastic? Will he also confirm that, by 2050, the weight of
plastic in the oceans will exceed the weight of fish, and
that micro-plastics have been found on the tops of
mountains and in the polar regions? I appreciate what the
Government are trying to do, but are we not facing a
desperately urgent crisis which requires more urgent action
nationally and internationally?
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My Lords, I entirely endorse all the instincts that the
noble Lord has expressed in terms of our need to take
action both at home and overseas. Only at CHOGM, there was
a strong desire within the Commonwealth countries to deal
with marine pollution. Through the UN, the G7, the G20 and
CHOGM, we have been working extremely hard, because this
issue must be dealt with internationally. At home, we fully
recognise that we need to advance the necessary changes.
That is why our resources and waste strategy to be
announced later in the year will represent an important way
forward.
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(Con)
My Lords, noble Lords will know of my passion for this
issue. I even have an eco-coffee cup in turquoise blue that
I use every morning, which saves me 25p. I am delighted at
the way in which this issue has gone up the agenda so
strongly—it means that we can make a big difference. But
how is my noble friend getting on with boosting recycling
in local authorities by bringing in soon a single system
for recycling, and by ensuring that all plastics have their
recyclable quality marked on the product?
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My Lords, I endorse what my noble friend has said, which is
why the four-point plan that my right honourable friend the
Secretary of State announced is precisely about reducing
the amount of plastic in circulation, addressing different
plastics in use, improving the rate of recycling and making
it easier for people to recycle. That is why we need to
work with local authorities. There are some very good
examples, both rural and urban, of local authorities
increasing their rates of recycling, and I applaud them.
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(LD)
My Lords, does the Minister accept that, besides local
authorities, the Government need to make extra effort with
producers to give them guidance about using only one sort
of plastic, where that is practical, because it is the
mixed plastics that are so difficult to recycle?
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My Lords, this is where I think industry is working much more
effectively than very often we appreciate. Indeed, industry
has committed to finding solutions to ensure that the
recycling of all black plastic packaging is sorted out by the
end of this year. Clearly, with innovation, we want to ensure
that the plastic we are producing is readily recyclable.
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The Lord Bishop of Salisbury
My Lords, it is good that we are making such progress on the
issue of plastic and food packaging but it is important to
think holistically about this. In the UK we throw away about
235 million items of clothing every month, 60% of which
includes polyester. Bishops know a thing or two about
dressing up, and churches and charities know about recycling,
but will the Minister say what steps are being taken to
address the use of polyester in human packaging?
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I may have needed notice of that very intriguing question.
However, it goes to the heart of what I would call wise and
sustainable use, and it is why I actively encourage natural
fibres. The use of wool is a very good idea.
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(CB)
My Lords, I declare an interest in the all-party group. Will
the Minister accept the urgent request of industry—the sector
represented by the Food and Drink Federation—to have a
holistic approach to this so that every form of plastic is
dealt with in the measures to be drawn up by the Government?
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My Lords, as I say, I think that industry is absolutely
seized of this. I could take noble Lords through the
companies involved in coffee and coffee cups, and the number
of them that are now dealing with rewards, with water filling
stations in their coffee shops, et cetera. I think that what
we are looking at now is the beginning of a considerable
revolution in the way we do things.
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(Lab)
My Lords, one of the consequences of the Government’s Brexit
policy is that all pallets importing food into the UK or
exporting it from here will have to be disinfected at the
frontier if they are made of timber. Will the Minister
encourage the use of recycled plastic for pallets so that
this does not have to happen? It would also save some of the
trees that are used in pallets.
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My Lords, wearing my other hat as Minister for Biosecurity I
know that the noble Lord will well understand some of the
dangers that we have had from pests and diseases coming
through in timber packaging. I take the point very seriously
indeed. We need to look at all sorts of innovative ways of
reusing and recycling plastic. He has given a very good
example of the reuse and recycling of materials.
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(Con)
My Lords, is it not a question of physician, heal thyself?
Should not this House and the Parliamentary Estate look very
carefully at its lack of progress in dealing with plastics
and other products? Plastics can only be recycled twice, so
when one talks about continually recycling plastics, it is
not accurate. Would it not be better to look at products such
as the bottles being developed by Choose Water, in Scotland,
that use no plastics?
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My Lords, it is incumbent on us all, whether it is the
Government, this House or Parliament. That is why I am very
pleased that the Services Committee is looking at this
precise point. When I think of the many plastic cups that I
see in all our committee rooms, I think that we undoubtedly
should lead by example.
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