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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons waste management standards vary between councils.

All local authorities must provide waste services as set out in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and other legislation. However, local authorities face different circumstances when collecting waste and make local decisions on how best to deliver these services.

The Government supports comprehensive and frequent waste collections that ensure high levels of recycling. The Resources and Waste Strategy shows what measures the Government will take to help local authorities recycle more and waste less.