Report claims recycling reforms are stalled by government delays and lack of clarity

The report, published on December 1, 2023, expresses concerns about a lack of certainty in the government’s delayed collections and packaging reforms programme and its long-term waste planning.

The report warns that without clarification, a resulting lack of investment will stop the government reaching its ambitions for reducing the environmental and economic costs of waste.

PAC said that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) waste reforms are reliant on businesses and consumers changing their behaviour by producing less and recycling more.

Despite this, the PAC’s report finds businesses and local authorities are ‘unable to prepare’ for the required changes due to a ‘lack of clarity on what form the reforms will take and the impact on council funding.’ 

The report claims that without clarification, local councils cannot invest and improve their recycling services and must delay procurement. Insufficient facilities to deal with the increased volumes of recycling coming from reforms could mean more plastics will be incinerated, taken to landfill, or exported to other countries than before.