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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to set a target for the reduction of the use of single-use plastic by 50 per cent by 2025.

We have no plans to set a target for the reduction in single use plastic. We want to set an Environment Act 2021 target in the area of resource efficiency and waste reduction that ensures a holistic view to waste and reduces waste overall. We believe that setting a wider reaching target that encompasses plastics as well as other materials will achieve the best environmental outcome as it will prevent switching to other materials which could have a greater environmental impact. To address the significant public concern towards plastic waste, HM Government is taking a range of measures that will contribute to reducing single-use plastic waste, including introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers and extended producer responsibility for plastic packaging. We also plan to publish HM Government response on our consultation to restrict further the number of single-use plastics placed on the market.

HM Government recently consulted upon a proposed Environment Act target to cut residual waste kg per capita by 50% by 2042 from 2019 levels. We received over 180,000 responses to the environmental target consultation from a range of individuals and organisations. As required by the Environment Act 2021 (EA2021), we are required to set a target on resources and waste. HM Government remains committed to the Environment Act 2021, and will publish ambitious, achievable, and robust targets soon.