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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the water industry on implementing an environmental quality standard on plastics in water.

Addressing plastic pollution in our waterways is a priority for the Government, and water infrastructure is recognised as a key pathway for microplastics entering the wider environment. However, there are currently no established methodologies for measuring microplastics in the water environment, which means that implementing an environmental quality standard at this time is not practicable.

Defra is therefore working with the Environment Agency, academics and the UK water industry to establish consistent methods to identify, quantify and characterise the types of microplastics entering wastewater treatment plants. Defra and the Environment Agency are also working with the water industry to evaluate the efficiency of treatment processes for the removal of microplastics from domestic wastewaters, and to assess the fate and biological effects of microplastics in receiving rivers.

The UK is already making great strides to tackle plastic pollution. Our world-leading ban on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products has helped stop billions of tiny pieces of plastic from potentially entering the aquatic environment every year.