Draft Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025

Martin Wrigley Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd July 2025 General Committees

[Martin Wrigley (Newton Abbot) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer, and I thank the Minister for bringing forward these regulations. The Liberal Democrats, too, think they are a good thing, and we will be supporting the instrument. It is nice to see the scourge of abandoning vapes—both disposable and non-disposable—in the community finally being tackled. Before I continue, I draw the Committee’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and my continuing membership of Teignbridge district council.

I will ask a couple of questions. Although I would really like to see the extension of the extended producer responsibility, and the particularly important balancing of the online responsibility to bring online traders in line with high street shops, in the interests of fairness, can the Minister give me an assurance that money for the costs of the disposal of vapes will be passed on to those authorities that are doing it, such as district councils? Disposing of vapes in those areas has been of particular trouble for the local councils.

I was delighted to hear the Minister talk about environmental responsibility being a fundamental part of business. That is absolutely why I bring my private Member’s Bill forward on Friday, which looks to change the director’s duties to include balancing the interests of shareholders, employees and the environment. I would be delighted to discuss that with the Minister if it might help her in her mission. Without wishing to detain the Committee any further, the Liberal Democrats thoroughly approve of this instrument, and will be supporting it.