Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2022 to Question 478, what assessment he has made of the compatibility between the claims of the glass industry that including glass in a deposit return scheme could reduce recycling, reduce the products that can be made from recycled glass and increase overall carbon emissions, with the findings of the FEVE LCA study which shows that, on a cradle to cradle basis, every tonne of recycled glass saves 670 kg of CO2 on average in the EU and that expressed in terms of percentages, melting 100 per cent cullet reduces the CO2 emissions by about 58 per cent compared to a situation where no cullet is used.

The Government agrees that recycling glass can reduce Co2 emissions, and we are committed to improving recycling rates. Stakeholders expressed concern that including glass in a Deposit Return Scheme and consequently crushing glass in a reverse vending machine could reduce the options for recycling it, and risks increasing overall carbon emissions. The Government believes kerbside recycling of glass offers the best route to deliver high quality glass for recycling.