MPs want your input on how to tackle plastic pollution and shift the UK to a circular economy.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has launched a new inquiry and is calling for evidence on key issues ahead of crunch talks on a Global Plastics Treaty.
Our economy is still largely linear – take, make, dispose.
MPs want to know how far the government has gone in changing that and whether regulators are doing enough to manage waste sustainably.
First up is plastics. The Global Plastics Treaty was meant to be signed off in November last year but talks broke down. Negotiators will now try again this August in Switzerland.
Ahead of those talks, MPs will hold a special session in July to grill experts on why progress stalled, what’s at stake, and how Britain can play a stronger role.
They want public feedback on everything from waste exports to single-use plastics, recycling reforms, landfill reduction, and fighting waste crime.
Plastic pollution is just one symptom of the broader problem of our linear economy, which is causing environmental damage as well as economic waste. In this broad inquiry, we will scrutinise efforts to bring about a more circular economy and progress on developing circular economies across different sectors, including agriculture and organic wastes such as food.”
Chair EFRA Committee, Alistair Carmichael
Submissions are open now and the Committee is inviting written evidence by Wednesday 18 June. They want to know:
- Why the November treaty talks failed
- What countries agree and disagree on
- How to break the deadlock this August
- What a good deal would look like
- And what role the UK should play
It’s the first stage of a wider look at the circular economy.
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