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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 6 October 2020 to Question HL 8373 on Incinerators: Recycling, whether the further monitoring provided adequate evidence of incinerator capacity planned between July 2022 and 2025; how that compared with levels of residual waste; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact that will have on national recycling rates.

The Government’s view is that Energy from Waste (EfW) should not compete with greater waste prevention, re-use, or recycling. Proposed new plants must not result in an over-capacity of EfW waste treatment provision at a local or national level. Officials are currently assessing planned incinerator capacity against expected future residual waste arisings. This further assessment of residual waste treatment capacity needs will be published in due course.