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 26 January 2018 to Question 123768 on Waste Disposal, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make the separate collection of compostable waste by local authorities mandatory.

Local authorities are best placed to determine local waste collection and recycling services in line with legislation and taking into account the services local residents demand. Separate collection of compostable waste is the best way to ensure this material is sent to the most appropriate treatment option and for diverting this waste from landfill, reducing the potential for greenhouse gas emissions.

97% of local authorities in England offer a garden waste collection service, and 50% of local authorities in England offer a dedicated food waste collection service either separately or mixed with garden waste. This waste is typically composted or, in the case of separately collected food waste, sent to anaerobic digestion.

We want to encourage local authorities to follow best practice in the provision of waste collection and recycling services, and have worked with the Waste and Resources Action Programme to provide guidance on separate collection of food waste and on garden waste collection and have committed to working towards no foodwaste entering landfill by 2030.