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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking through Simpler Recycling to help ensure that collected packaging waste is recycled.

Through Simpler Recycling, all household and non-household premises (such as businesses, schools and hospitals) across England will be able to recycle the same materials in the following core groups: metal; glass; plastic: paper and card; food waste; garden waste (household only). By making recycling clearer and easier, we will help reduce contamination, better preserve material value and help to grow demand for recyclables.

Furthermore, under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging, local authorities will receive payments for managing recyclable packaging waste, supporting costs associated with upgrading services and sorting infrastructure and incentivising them to deliver efficient and effective services. Under EPR, higher fees can be charged to producers for packaging that is less recyclable, incentivising them to choose readily recyclable packaging.