The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA Committee) is examining the Government’s Waste Strategy for England, which was published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in May of this year.

The inquiry will focus on producing a final report from entries responding to the Government’s consultation paper.

The callout for submissions made early last week will examine how waste matters are dealt with so that recommendations can be made on issues including:

  • How policies proposed by the Waste Strategy will be implemented and the roles of those responsible for the production and disposal of different classes of waste-including industrial, business and household waste. Localisation as opposed to centralisation of waste management
  • The role for and implementation of regulations, and their enforcement
  • The classification of waste
  • The proposals for financial incentives to increase household waste prevention and recycling
  • The role of composting
  • The Government’s approach to waste minimisation, for example consideration of responsible packaging, including examination of the different materials used and the potential for reusable packaging and return schemes
  • The potential for the proposals in the Waste Strategy to tackle the UK’s contribution to climate change, in particular through the reduction of methane emissions from landfill
  • The promotion of anaerobic digestion for agricultural and food waste
  • The adequacy of the existing infrastructure, such as energy from waste facilities with heat recovery; the UK’s capacity to process materials collected for recycling; and the potential for Government action to encourage the most efficient novel technologies

    MP Michael Jack told Edie: “We can’t predetermine what the outcome [of the submissions] We’ll take the evidence and come to some conclusions…we’ll get ideas and produce a report with commentary and then put forward recommendations.

    “We want to see what improvements will be made, especially in the commercial sector and waste from energy.”

    Dana Gornitzki

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