Government should implement its waste collection reforms and materials regulations, to meet the 65 per cent recycling target by 2035, and work towards higher rates of recycling thereafter:
- without further delay, implement and provide clear guidance on how the collection reforms, known as ‘simpler recycling’, packaging extended producer responsibility scheme and deposit return scheme will work
- by 2026, develop individual recycling targets for all local authorities and provide financial support for transitional costs
- expand the single use plastics ban to cover a wider range of hard to recycle plastic items
- introduce a measurement system, from 2025, on the composition and waste treatment destinations for commercial and industrial waste in England. Where the market is not likely to deliver improved recycling of this waste, government should develop future policies to increase recycling rates further.
