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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential for soil-biodegradable mulch films certified to the BSI standard BS EN17033 to replace single-use agriplastics.

The Environment Agency has not carried out any assessments of the British Standards associated with biodegradable mulch films nor its potential to replace single-use agriplastics.

However, once a single-use plastic has fulfilled its intended use (regardless of its construction/biodegradability) there will be a presumption that on discard the plastic will become a waste and should therefore be managed as part of normal waste management controls. This would not support a ploughing in the waste plastic into the soil on the field.