Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Single-use Plastic

Thursday 23 February 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Department has banned single-use plastic straws, cotton buds, and stirrers and plans to ban additional items by October 2023.
  • The Department aims to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042 through its 25-year environment plan.
  • The Minister expressed willingness to discuss strategies for reducing plastic use and highlighted ongoing initiatives such as bans, extended producer responsibility, and deposit return schemes.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alistair Carmichael Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland
Environment
Context

The question follows an announcement about banning additional single-use plastic items from October 2023. There is a need to assess the progress made before the pandemic and the impact of measures taken during lockdown.

Question

What recent assessment has her Department made of the feasibility of ending the use of non-essential single-use plastics?

Answer from Rebecca Pow

We have banned single-use plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers, and recently announced additional items to be banned from October 2023. Through our 25-year environment plan, we aim to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question specifically asked for a recent assessment of feasibility, but the Minister did not provide an official departmental assessment or details on the feasibility study.

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Q2 Alistair Carmichael Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland
Environment
Context

The supplementary question addresses the impact of measures taken during lockdown on reducing single-use plastic use, and highlights issues with Scotland's deposit return scheme.

Question

Will the Minister join me in designing a strategy for the eventual elimination of single-use plastics that can enjoy everyone's support?

Answer from Rebecca Pow

I am keen to talk about these issues. This Government are doing a great job in setting the direction of travel for reducing our use of plastics, pressing forward with individual bans, extended producer responsibility schemes, data reporting sections, deposit return scheme, and consistent collections.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister acknowledged efforts but did not commit to working specifically on a widely supported strategy as requested.

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