Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the gasification of plastic waste.
Defra has not carried out such an assessment but liaises with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on its work to determine all the potential benefits from gasification and pyrolysis of waste, including plastics.
The Government is committed to improving the recovery of value from residual waste and encourages the development of innovative, emerging technologies to help divert waste from landfill providing they do not compete with greater recycling, reuse and prevention. We recognise the potential that these technologies can have in the decarbonisation of several sectors such as heat and transport.