In Defra Questions this week I called on the UK Government to emulate the Welsh Government’s record on recycling.

I said “Wales has the best recycling rate in the UK and the second-best in Europe, and the Welsh Labour Government has stated its aim of making Wales the first ‘refill nation’. Can I suggest to the Minister that the Department could learn a lot from Wales, including on plastics which we send abroad, and incorporate this into the upcoming Resources and Waste Strategy?”

Environment Minister Therese Coffey responded by saying that she would continue to give credit to the Welsh Government on the progress being made in Wales – as she had done at EU Environmental Council meetings in the past – and confirmed that the Defra was looking carefully at Welsh Government recycling strategies.