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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what processes his Department has in place to ensure that exported packaging waste is recycled by the country of destination.

All businesses involved in the export of wastes are required to take all necessary steps to ensure that the waste they ship is managed in an environmentally sound manner throughout its shipment and during its recycling.

There is a system of international rules on waste shipments which must be followed by both UK authorities and those in the country of destination to ultimately ensure the environmentally sound management of waste.

Only exporters accredited by the relevant agency can issue evidence of the recycling of exported packaging waste (PERNs). PERNS can only be issued on waste sent to an approved site (that will operate to standards ‘broadly equivalent’ to those in the EU).