Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy on dog fouling; and whether they provide guidance to local councils on the penalties for dog fouling.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
It is unacceptable for people not to clean up after their dogs and we are giving local councils the tools they need to tackle this anti-social behaviour.
Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) allow councils to require dog owners to pick up their dog’s faeces. Those who breach the terms of a PSPO may be prosecuted, which can lead to a criminal record and a fine of up to £1,000 on conviction. Alternatively, the council can issue a fixed penalty notice. As part of the Prime Minister’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, we will be increasing the upper limit on these fixed penalty notices to £500, up from the current maximum of £100.
The Government has published practitioners' guidance on dealing with irresponsible dog ownership, which covers the use of PSPOs. Copies of this manual and its annexes are attached to this answer.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evaluation they have made of the commercial viability of the use of compostable potato starch bag packaging by government agencies.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
HM Government is not currently providing any specific support for the development of compostable potato starch bag packaging and have not evaluated the commercial viability of using compostable potato starch bag packaging by government agencies. Through UK Research and Innovation, we have provided over £190 million to over 280 projects in the last 5 years, for research to help us reduce plastic waste and increase the sustainability of the plastic packaging we use.
In light of evidence received in response to our call for evidence on bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastic, our focus is on working towards all plastic packaging being recyclable or reusable rather than compostable. Currently there is insufficient industrial composting capacity throughout England to manage compostable plastics at end of life and our call for evidence suggests these materials are often stripped out at the start of the process and landfilled or incinerated. This packaging also does not contribute to a circular economy in the same way as packaging that can be reused or recycled into new packaging or products do, as compostable plastic packaging is generally intended to be used once.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing for the development of compostable potato starch bag packaging.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
HM Government is not currently providing any specific support for the development of compostable potato starch bag packaging and have not evaluated the commercial viability of using compostable potato starch bag packaging by government agencies. Through UK Research and Innovation, we have provided over £190 million to over 280 projects in the last 5 years, for research to help us reduce plastic waste and increase the sustainability of the plastic packaging we use.
In light of evidence received in response to our call for evidence on bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastic, our focus is on working towards all plastic packaging being recyclable or reusable rather than compostable. Currently there is insufficient industrial composting capacity throughout England to manage compostable plastics at end of life and our call for evidence suggests these materials are often stripped out at the start of the process and landfilled or incinerated. This packaging also does not contribute to a circular economy in the same way as packaging that can be reused or recycled into new packaging or products do, as compostable plastic packaging is generally intended to be used once.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they made representations on the use of Oxo-Biodegradable plastics to the European Approval Authorities, prior to that body’s decision to ban such products for use in agriculture in favour of bio-based resin from starch and lactic acid based products.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Article 5 of EU Directive 2019/904, on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, introduces a ban on products made from oxo-degradable from being placed on the market within the EU from 3 July 2021. Defra officials were engaged in several fast-paced negotiations in the latter half of 2018 in the lead up to the Directive’s introduction to the European Parliament. The UK Government did not make any separate representations to the European Chemicals Agency regarding oxo-degradable plastics.Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative and comparative benefits of bio-based resin from (1) starch, and (2) lactic acid, in biodegradable products used in agriculture, compared to Oxo-Biodegradable plastics.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
On 8 April 2021, we published our response to the call for evidence on the need for standards for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/standards-for-biodegradable-compostable-and-bio-based-plastics-call-for-evidence.
While neither a specific assessment of oxo-biodegradable plastic sheeting used by farmers, nor an assessment comparing bio-based resin from starch and lactic acid in biodegradable products used in agriculture to oxo-biodegradable plastics has been made, the aforementioned call for evidence covered oxo-biodegradable plastics.
The Government response acknowledges that there is currently insufficient evidence demonstrating that oxo-biodegradable plastics perform as claimed and biodegrade, without residue, in a reasonable timeframe in the open environment. We continue to monitor the latest developments and evidence and are keen to see research published in international peer reviewed journals illustrating how these plastics degrade in the marine environment, open environment, and under the soil, specifically under naturalistic conditions, as opposed to experimental models of aging. We also welcome further research on the full environmental impacts of using bio-based plastics.
Over the coming months, we intend to commission a research project to further consider the evidence that has been supplied to the call for evidence within the context of wider literature and new research.
We do not plan to make representations to the European Commission on the usability and safety of oxo-biodegradable products in the farming industry.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to make representations to the European Commission on the usability and safety of Oxo-Biodegradable products in the farming industry; and if so, whether they will coordinate those representations with the government of Ireland.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
On 8 April 2021, we published our response to the call for evidence on the need for standards for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/standards-for-biodegradable-compostable-and-bio-based-plastics-call-for-evidence.
While neither a specific assessment of oxo-biodegradable plastic sheeting used by farmers, nor an assessment comparing bio-based resin from starch and lactic acid in biodegradable products used in agriculture to oxo-biodegradable plastics has been made, the aforementioned call for evidence covered oxo-biodegradable plastics.
The Government response acknowledges that there is currently insufficient evidence demonstrating that oxo-biodegradable plastics perform as claimed and biodegrade, without residue, in a reasonable timeframe in the open environment. We continue to monitor the latest developments and evidence and are keen to see research published in international peer reviewed journals illustrating how these plastics degrade in the marine environment, open environment, and under the soil, specifically under naturalistic conditions, as opposed to experimental models of aging. We also welcome further research on the full environmental impacts of using bio-based plastics.
Over the coming months, we intend to commission a research project to further consider the evidence that has been supplied to the call for evidence within the context of wider literature and new research.
We do not plan to make representations to the European Commission on the usability and safety of oxo-biodegradable products in the farming industry.