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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage firms to (a) recycle packaging and (b) make unsold food available to charities for distribution.

The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations place a legal obligation on UK businesses that make or use packaging to ensure that a proportion of the packaging they place on the market is recovered and recycled. This creates an incentive for companies to use less packaging and to ensure that their packaging can be recycled at end of life as it will reduce their costs in complying with the Regulations.

The Government is working with manufacturers and retailers to increase the redistribution of food that would otherwise be wasted, including the use by food banks and other charities. All major supermarkets now have relationships with redistribution organisations. Leading retailers, manufacturers, and food redistribution organisations have agreed an ambition to double the amount of surplus food they redistribute by 2020. This was announced in January.