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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the use of plastic; and if he will make a statement.

The Government published the Resources and Waste Strategy last year, setting out our plans to reduce, reuse and recycle more plastic than we do now. Our target is to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste throughout the life of the 25 Year Environment Plan, but for the most problematic plastics we are going faster.

The 5p charge on plastic bags has reduced their use significantly and we have now consulted on increasing this charge and extending it to all retailers. We have also imposed a ban on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products and have consulted on banning plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds.

We are currently consulting on extending producer responsibility for packaging, so that producers will be responsible for the full costs of managing packaging waste. We are also exploring the introduction of a deposit return scheme for drinks containers and increasing consistency in the recycling system. We will develop legislative proposals taking account of the consultation responses.