Plastics: Waste

(asked on 19th March 2019) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of being party to a legally binding international treaty on plastics with clear targets and standards.


Answered by
Thérèse Coffey Portrait
Thérèse Coffey
This question was answered on 22nd March 2019

The Government has taken on board existing relevant international agreements and commitments, which include the Basel Agreement, the Oceans Plastic Charter, and G7 and G20 Action Plans on Marine Litter.

Our focus is on immediate action to tackle the pressing problem of plastic pollution and plastic waste. Our recently published Resources and Waste Strategy includes an ambitious set of policies to support elimination of avoidable plastic waste. This includes a commitment to meet the ambition of the EU’s Single-use Plastics Directive.

We have also committed to work with other countries to magnify the impact of our domestic action. Accordingly we have signed up to the Ellen MacArthur New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, and we are spearheading efforts to support developing countries address plastic waste including through the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance and the Global Plastics Action Partnership.

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