Given an automatic First Reading yesterday (30 January) without discussion, the Bill now moves to a Second Reading although no date has yet been announced for this. The Bill is short on detail of what will actually change, especially in terms of producer responsibility, with measures mainly in place to give ministers relevant powers; for example there are paragraphs on producer responsibility in Part 3, the waste and resource efficiency chapter, but little detail.

Attention for the waste and recycling sector is instead likely to also focus on detailed consultation documents, which will reflect government thinking, and these are due out in the early summer or before.< /p>

Policy paper

Alongside the Bill, a detailed policy statement has been issued setting out the rationale for various environmental measures covering key topics such as waste management and air quality.

The statement emphasises how the Bill will move the economy towards a “more circular economic model”.

There will be clauses to set out minimum ecodesign for products and measures to support “a shift towards durable, repairable and recyclable products, and banning those products or packaging which cannot be reused or recycled (where appropriate).”

Confirmation of perhaps the most radical changes which will impact on waste and recycling – a revamp of the PRN system – comes in the document which says that “Powers in the Environment Bill to introduce new extended producer responsibility schemes will enable us to reform our existing producer responsibility arrangements and introduce new schemes in the future. Extended producer responsibility schemes seek to make producers responsible for the full net costs of managing their products at end of life. The powers provide for modulated fees that incentivise producers to design their products with re-use and recycling in mind, as those that make their products easier to recycle will pay less.”

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