Government lacks long-term plans to meet waste reduction targets, says watchdog

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Defra must give households, local authorities and businesses the confidence they need to substantially change behaviours, or risk further setbacks to our environmental objectives Meg Hillier MP, chair of the Public Accounts Committee NAO chief Gareth Davies said: “Reducing waste is critical to reducing emissions and achieving some of government’s wider environmental goals, but Defra does not have effective long-term plans for how it will achieve its ambitions for reducing waste, and there has been delay to its implementation of reforms. Boosting and simplifying local recycling is an important part of dealing with waste, but we really need to see measures to stop so many raw materials being used in the first place Richard Benwell, Wildlife and Countryside Link “Nearly five years on from its 2018 strategy, Defra has much to do before it can implement major reforms like the deposit return scheme,” she said. “Defra must give households, local authorities and businesses the confidence they need to substantially change behaviours, or risk further setbacks to our environmental objectives.” The Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of groups campaigning for environmental protection, warned that the Government was a “long way off hitting its target of 65% recycling by 2035” and called for an “ambitious” deposit return scheme. Chief executive Richard Benwell said: “Boosting and simplifying local recycling is an important part of dealing with waste, but we really need to see measures to stop so many raw materials being used in the first place – often being transported all over the world just to be used for a few moments.” A Defra spokesman said: “We are pushing ahead with our programme of reforms to reduce waste and improve our use of resources – building on our commitments clearly set out in our Environment Improvement Plan earlier this year.