The Environment Act, which replaces and in some cases is intended to strengthen environmental protections previously preserved in EU legislation, was passed into law in 2021. As part of this Act, the Government must set long-term targets in four priority areas (water, air, biodiversity and resource efficiency and waste reduction) – targets that must have been passed by Parliament into law by November 2022. DEFRA – the government department responsible for this Act and setting the targets, is currently consulting on what those targets should be.  The consultation is now open until 27^th June.

There are quite a number of issues with the proposals from the government for environmental targets – some of these are set out in this blog.  

Greenpeace is working with other organisations to lobby the government on a range of these issues, but we would like your help to pressure the Government on more action on plastic pollution.

What do we want to happen as a result of the consultation?

Greenpeace is asking for the waste and resources priority area for setting targets to include a specific target to reduce plastic pollution as separate from other materials (because of the scale of the problem – e.g. plastic production is projected to quadruple by 2050). All the other year on year plastics reduction targets that DEFRA set would need to align with the initial ambition of a 50% reduction in plastic production by 2025, with half of this reduction being met through a shift to reuse and refill.

This is a crucial point at which campaigners could have a real impact on plastic pollution by influencing this consultation.

Plastic pollution is responsible for huge harm to whole ecosystems at a global level, and there is increasing evidence that microplastics ingested by people through air, food and water could have harmful effects on human health. Our everyday lives are also blighted with single-use plastics from our doorsteps to our beloved countryside.

We need a stand-alone plastic target: there is currently a fragmented approach to reducing plastic pollution and to boosting resource efficiency and waste, missing a key opportunity to put forward a joined-up approach to addressing the huge and growing plastics problem. 

Recycling alone is not the answer- most plastic can only be recycled once or twice before becoming useless. Simply relying on the argument that we can recycle more is greenwashing – it allows companies to sound sustainable and environmentally friendly, but in reality, it still harms the environment and financially benefits waste management companies who make a massive profit from the recycling industry. 

It’s time to make sure the Government hears the message loud and clear: tackling the plastic pollution crisis means reducing plastic waste, not just increasing recycling

Producer/recycling industry lobbyists will be lobbying hard against more rules to require a reduction in plastic – we need to balance it out and show the Government that this is an issue lots of people care about! 

What we’d like you to do:

Please respond to the consultation by sending an email to environmentaltargets@defra.gov.uk

Template email:

Subject line -Submission to the Environment Act targets consultation

Dear DEFRA team,

Please take this email as my submission to the Environment Act targets consultation. 

I am writing to you about this issue because [insert why you care about reducing plastic production and pollution. You could talk about taking part in The Big Plastic Count, and any other local initiatives you’ve been involved with that relate to plastics, e.g. community clean-ups/litter picks]. 

I would like to see the Government aim higher with its new environmental targets across the board, or it will fall short of its aim of passing on the natural world in better condition to the next generation. Some of the main areas of concern, which need improvement, are set out in this blog. 

When it comes to tackling plastic pollution, I am especially concerned that there is no stand-alone plastics target, especially as the UK generates more plastic waste per person than any other country apart from the USA. We are a major contributor to the world’s plastic crisis, and I would like to see us become a major actor in tackling this crisis instead. The Government is missing a vital opportunity to tackle plastic pollution under the current proposals, including the chance to radically reduce our waste at source by setting a specific target to cut the UK’s single use plastic by 50% by 2025. 

On plastic pollution, what I would like to see is:  

1. SET TARGETS TO CUT SINGLE USE PLASTIC IN HALF BY 2025 AND ALMOST ENTIRELY ELIMINATE SINGLE-USE PLASTIC IN 15 YEARS

Acknowledging the need for the Government to set long-term targets under the Environment Act framework, there should be a stand-alone long-term target to almost entirely eliminate single-use plastic in 15 years and introduce mandatory corporate reporting on plastic reduction. This will help create a level playing field for industry to transition to refill and reuse.  Only 9% of plastics ever made are currently recycled. Yet plastic production is projected to quadruple by 2050. At the same time, the Government’s current reliance on exporting plastic packaging is being increasingly challenged as more and more countries are choosing to limit plastic waste imports. Turkey is the latest country to do this, following China’s National Sword policy in 2018. India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam, have also moved to protect themselves from imported plastic waste. So even with the most ambitious recycling infrastructure targets and investment, there’s no way the UK waste system will be able to cope with the combination of even more plastic production and the waste export bans ahead.

Since the plastic pollution crisis is extremely urgent, a shorter term target is also needed alongside the long-term target, to make sure that significant action to reduce single-use plastic at source happens over the next 3 years. There should therefore be an additional target to reduce single-use plastic by 50% by 2025. This 50% reduction should be achieved by making 25% of packaging reusable by 2025, rising to 50% by 2030. Reusable alternatives must be universally designed to work for everyone’s needs, and decisions must be informed by the disabled community.

2. BAN PLASTIC WASTE EXPORTS 

The government must ban plastic waste exports, starting with an immediate ban on all exports to non-OECD member countries and mixed plastic waste to OECD member countries. A complete ban should be in place by no later than 2025. 

3. IMPLEMENT AN ALL-IN DEPOSIT RETURN SCHEME AND INTRODUCE EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY 

The Government should implement an all-in Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for recycling and reuse immediately. This should be for drinks containers whose scope of materials and deposit level is consistent across the UK. 

As part of this, new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements should be designed to increase reuse and reduction of packaging as well as recyclability. This should be achieved through a combination of a) reuse and reduction targets; and b) modulation of fees to incentivise eco-design, reuse and reduction, and penalise single-use packaging. 

Thank you for considering my submission to this vital consultation. 

Sincerely, 

[insert name]