Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce (a) microplastic wastewater discharges and (b) illegal wastewater discharges.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Water Industry Research project (performed by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology) reported in April 2022 that wastewater treatment plants remove 99% of microplastics by number and 99.5% by mass.
We will not let companies get away with illegal activity and where breaches are found, we will not hesitate to hold companies to account. We have boosted funding for the Environment Agency (EA) with £2.2 million per year specifically for water company enforcement activity so that robust action is taken against illegal breaches of storm overflow permits. We are consulting on increasing the scope of penalties and maximum penalty the EA can impose on water companies damaging the environment. This consultation closes on 15 May.
Asked by: Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of research published in Environment International in February 2022 on the presence of microplastics in human blood, what plans they have for creating a National Plastic Health Research Impact Fund for further research in this area.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2018, the Government has committed over £100 million for research and innovation support to tackle the broad range of issues that arise from plastic waste. This includes funding research into the health impacts of plastic through UK Research and Innovation and the National Institute for Health and Care Research. Whilst it is not typical to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions, both funders welcome funding applications for research into the health impacts of plastic.
Asked by: Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of research published in Environment International in February 2022 on the presence of microplastics in human blood, what steps they will take to increase research into the health impacts of plastic pollution.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2018, the Government has committed over £100 million for research and innovation support to tackle the broad range of issues that arise from plastic waste. This includes funding research into the health impacts of plastic through UK Research and Innovation and the National Institute for Health and Care Research. Whilst it is not typical to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions, both funders welcome funding applications for research into the health impacts of plastic.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the new study by the Five Gyres Institute published in the journal Plos One on 8 March, concerning the increase in the amount of microplastic in the world’s oceans in the past 15 years; and what steps they will take, with international partners, in response to that report.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Marine litter, including microplastics, is one of the greatest environmental challenges we are currently facing, reiterated by the new study by the Five Gyres Institute. Whilst we have not yet made an assessment of the findings of this latest study, we will continue to draw from a wide range of evidence and assessments to develop our policy, including any new research, enabling us to take the best possible action domestically, regionally and internationally to tackle the issue of marine microplastics and improve our understanding of their sources, pathways, impacts, distribution and abundance.
Domestically, we are working to prevent plastic from entering the environment in the first place by eliminating the most problematic plastics; we have already banned microbeads in rinse-off personal care products and we have funded research to examine wider sources of microplastics, including tyres and textiles. This research will help to inform future policy.
As a Contracting Party to the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, the UK participates in monitoring programmes to assess regional trends in marine litter. Technical experts from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) have been leading an expert group to develop a new indicator for microlitter (including microplastics) in seafloor sediments, which could be used in future to inform regional policy.
The UK is a leading voice in tackling marine plastic pollution, co-sponsoring the proposal to prepare a new international, legally binding plastics treaty and taking an ambitious stance at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC1) in November last year. At INC1, the UK supported a treaty that will restrain the production and consumption of plastic to sustainable levels, address plastic design and encourage more recycling and re-use of plastic, in order to end plastic pollution, including microplastic pollution.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made on the impact of tyre wear on water pollution in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No assessment has been being carried out specifically in West Yorkshire. However, more widely in 2020, Defra published the findings from research (Tyre particles reach rivers and ocean - Defra in the media (blog.gov.uk) it has funded with Plymouth University and others investigating the sources and pathways of synthetic fibre and vehicle tyre wear contamination into the marine and river environment. Researchers are also currently undertaking work for Defra to develop and test a new methodology to analyse vehicle tyre ware products in river sediments.
In addition, the Environment Agency contributed to research (First phase of research paves the way for further studies on microplastics pollution - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) undertaken by Highways England and industry experts on the extent of microplastic pollution from run-off from the major road network.
The outcomes from these research projects will be used in the development of policy options to help mitigate the impact of microplastics on the aquatic environment and provide design guidance for the major road network.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compostability of plastics certified as home compostable.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
HM Government notes the findings from UCL's study into the home composting of plastics and will use this to inform our evidence base.
The study has shown that home composting is not a viable destination for managing plastic waste and this echoes HM Government's existing position to prioritise the reduction, reuse and recycling of plastics before anything else.
In April 2021 we published our response to the call for evidence on the need for standards for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics. The Government response acknowledges that compostable plastics must be treated in industrial composting facilities to be broken down and, when processed incorrectly, can be a source of microplastics and contaminate recycling streams. Therefore, our focus will be on reducing unnecessary consumption and working towards a circular economy, not composting of plastics.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of the levels of microplastic pollution in the River Tame.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Manchester University led research is currently ongoing to investigate the microplastic load taken on by fish in the River Tame. The Environment Agency issued a permit to a PhD student in October 2022 to take samples of minnow, which will be analysed alongside sediment, water and macroinvertebrates, to better understand the mechanisms of uptake.
Under the Natural Course Project, the Environment Agency, United Utilities and Greater Manchester Combined Authority are jointly funding a study to further understand loading of microplastics in a variety of flow conditions.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to make (1) regulatory, or (2) other, responses to findings in the Big Compost Study which concluded that 60 per cent of items sold as "home compostable" did not degrade in homes under real world conditions.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
HM Government has no immediate plans to regulate in this area but welcomes the findings from UCL’s study into the home composting of plastics and will use this to inform our evidence base.
The study has shown that home composting is not a viable destination for managing plastic waste and this echoes HM Government’s existing position to prioritise the reduction, reuse and recycling of plastics before anything else.
In April 2021 we published our response to the call for evidence on the need for standards for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics. The Government response acknowledges that compostable plastics must be treated in industrial composting facilities to be broken down and, when processed incorrectly, can be a source of microplastics and contaminate recycling streams. Therefore, our focus will be on reducing unnecessary consumption and working towards a circular economy, not composting of plastics.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to reduce plastic pollution following the discovery of microplastics in human breast milk.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is taking decisive action to reduce plastic pollution. We have introduced one of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products and brought in measures to restrict the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds in October 2020. The use of single-use carrier bags has been reduced in the main supermarkets by over 97% with our five, now ten, pence charge.
As set out in the 2022-2023 UK REACH Work Programme available on GOV.UK, we are reviewing intentionally added microplastics and the risks they pose to human health and the environment. The results will help to inform the Government's approach to managing any risks whether through UK REACH or other routes.
The recent study that has found microplastic particles in breast milk indicates the potential for low human neonate exposure via breast milk (and the exposure of the mother). However, the small sample size in these studies mean that these results need to be taken as indicative and highlight the need for further research in this area.
In 2021, the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) published an overarching statement on potential risks from exposure to microplastics ( https://cot.food.gov.uk/M-statementsandpositionpapers#microplastics(opens in a new tab)). A copy is attached to this answer. The COT made a number of proposals for research priorities to aid risk assessment of microplastics, and concluded that "based on the available data, it is not yet possible to perform a complete assessment for the potential risks from exposure to micro and nanoplastics via the oral and inhalation routes".
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 implications for his policies of recent research examining the presence of microplastics in human blood.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
HM Government is taking decisive action to fight plastic waste including through minimum charges on single-use items; a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers; and ensuring producers cover the costs of collecting and managing plastic packaging waste.
In 2021, the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) published an overarching statement on potential risks from exposure to microplastics. The COT made a number of proposals for research priorities to aid risk assessment of microplastics, and concluded that "based on the available data, it is not yet possible to perform a complete assessment for the potential risks from exposure to micro- and nano-plastics via the oral and inhalation routes". Subsequently, COT has published a sub-statement focusing on the oral route and a sub-statement on the inhalation route is in preparation.
As set out in the 2022-2023 UK REACH Work Programme, we are reviewing intentionally added microplastics and the risks they pose to human health and the environment. The results will help to inform HM Government's approach to managing any risks whether through UK REACH or other routes.