In Parliament today I urged UK Government ministers to ‘learn from Wales’ in light of ‘flatlining’ recycling rates in England.

Speaking in questions to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, I said “The Minister will know that Wales recycles more than any other part of the UK, with very ambitious recycling targets and a new £6.5million fund to help businesses become plastic-free. Shouldn’t the UK Government be learning from Wales given that it’s flatlining on its own targets.”

DEFRA Minister Theresa Coffey responded by saying that she ‘commended’ the Welsh Government’s policy deployment, and added that the UK Government was consulting on measures to increase recycling.

Wales recycles more than any other part of the UK, and has set a target of recycling 70% of its waste by 2025 and 100% by 2050. Last month the Welsh Government launched the new Circular Economy Fund to help businesses apply for grants to boost their use of recycled plastics.

According to statistics made available by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in March, England’s recycling rate is 45% – compared to 58% in Wales, which has already surpassed the EU target recycling rate for the UK of 50% by 2020.