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 funding innovative recycling ideas.

Defra supports the funding of innovative recycling projects across the country. To support our ambitious goals to recycle plastic film, Defra alongside the Flexible Plastic Fund, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Zero Waste Scotland, is funding a multi-million-pound pilot project on flexible plastic kerbside collections. This is part of Defra’s funding of the £60 million UKRI’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) programme and will support the nationwide introduction of plastic film collections from households and businesses from 31 March 2027. Through the SSPP, Defra has also supported a project to develop food-grade recycled polypropylene in the UK, the first of its kind.