Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the fire at the battery energy storage systems site in Liverpool in 2020 on the environment.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has not made an assessment of the potential impact on the environment of the fire at the battery energy storage systems site in Liverpool in 2020. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service carried out testing of the water run-off with advice from its scientific support provider at time of the incident. Tests indicated no harmful contamination of watercourses or drains, with the water run off also largely being contained on site.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish non-illustrative fees for extended producer responsibility for packaging.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A third set of illustrative base fees were published in December 2024, based on improved data, to provide greater certainty to business. Producers are required to submit the next round of 2024 data by 1 April 2025. Following this and pending satisfactory regulatory checks, we intend to use this data to publish pEPR base fees by June 2025 for the current Operational Year. Invoices will be issued in October 2025.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of Packaging Export Recovery Note (PERN) system on global plastic pollution.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All exports of plastic packaging waste are made in accordance with the relevant regulations related to the shipment of waste and are enforced by the Environment Agency (relevant regulator). The PRN/PERN system provides economic support for the recycling of packaging waste whether reprocessed in the UK or overseas.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) packing export recovery and (b) packaging recovery notes that have been issued each year since 2010.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This data is available on the National Packaging Waste Database – National Packaging Waste Database.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much abuse and fraud has been reported on the Packaging Export Recovery Note system since 2010.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This data is available on the National Packaging Waste Database – National Packaging Waste Database.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the number of arrests for fraud concerning packaging export recovery notes in each year since 2010.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Data related to prosecutions is published by the relevant regulators. https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-enforcement-action
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of splitting recycling targets for (a) packaging recovery notes and (b) packaging export recovery notes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra will shortly be engaging with relevant stakeholders to better understand the merits of this and other potential enhancements to the Package Recovery Note system.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility fees being (a) illustrative and (b) not intended for business planning purposes on the ability of business to plan for these costs.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The four UK administrations have published three sets of illustrative base fees to help businesses prepare for the implementation of extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging. Thanks to regular engagement and input with a wide range of businesses for the first time we published the third set of illustrative fees showed point estimates as opposed to ranges, providing further certainty.
Large producers are required to submit the next round of 2024 data by 1 April 2025 to ensure the fees are based on accurate data, following this and pending satisfactory regulatory checks, we intend to use these data to publish pEPR base fees by June 2025.
PackUK will continue to monitor the expected base fees as more packaging data is submitted for 2024, and will release a new set of illustrative base fees before June if there are significant changes.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish new guidance on the exemption process for indirect sales of non-household waste under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme before fees are calculated for the year starting in April 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders to consider potential future amendments to the definition of household packaging, which includes the exemption process for indirect sales of non-household waste under the pEPR scheme. The Government will provide an update on progress made and next steps shortly.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has taken steps to promote material substitution, in the context of (a) recent trends in the level of Extended Producer Responsibility Fees and (b) the introduction of a deposit return scheme for other drink materials from 2027.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. The packaging reforms increase producers’ roles in supporting this transition. Packaging EPR will make producers, rather than taxpayers, responsible for the costs of managing their packaging, reducing the amount of packaging used by producers and incentivising recyclable and reusable alternatives.
In line with previous consultations, and the regulations, Packaging EPR base fees in year 1 are designed to reflect the cost of managing packaging waste. From year 2 fees will include modulation to incentivise more environmentally sustainable packaging, initially focussing on recyclability. I
DRS in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland will include single-use drinks containers from 150ml to 3 litres. Materials included are polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, steel, and aluminium drink containers. A DRS will create a separate cleaner, closed-loop waste stream which will mean plastic and metal drinks containers can be turned back into new drinks containers, reducing the reliance on virgin materials. The scheme has not been designed to encourage material switching.