On 27th January, Defra released its Waste Management Plan for England 2021, which
provides an analysis of the current waste management situation in England. The government
is obliged to update the Plan every 6 years under the Waste Regulations of 2011,
and the last Waste Management Plan was published in 2013. The latest version
was released alongside a summary of responses and the Government response to
the Waste Management Consultation, which had been open from August to October
2020.
An Updated Plan
The 25 Year
Environment Plan, published in 2018, set out a plan to improve the environment
for the next generation. One aspect of this is waste management. The Waste
Management Plan brings together current policies under one national plan, in
line with the Waste Regulations of 2011. It is primarily a reflection of the Resources
and Waste Strategy of 2018 which built on the Environment Plan, but there are
other Strategies too which are significant in some way to the Waste Management
Plan, like the Clean Growth Strategy and the Industrial Strategy.
The latest
plan includes some new commitments from the government. One being that the
re-use and recycling of municipal waste is increased to a minimum of 65% by
weight, and the amount landfilled is reduced to 10% or less, by 2035.
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