14 July 2021
Text of letter sent to local MP about the delay in the Deposit Return System and Extended Producer Responsibility timetable
Dear ……………. MP
You have done much to help cut back the use of single use plastic - not least in your support for ………………and other plastics campaigners in ………….
I would appreciate your advice about the current government timetable for implementing the Resources and Waste Strategy, in particular measures to (1) encourage recycling - a Deposit Return Scheme - and (2) hold companies responsible for the plastic waste they create - Extended Producer Responsibility.
As you will be aware, both of these have a causal link to the amount of single use plastic that ends up in the ocean.
I applaud the fact that these measures are in the pipeline, but it is the urgency with which they are being treated that I question.
I understand why the Environment Bill (with the enabling legislation for the above) has been delayed, but I wonder if vested interests within the industry (and parliament?) are inadvertently applying pressure that is setting back the timetable: having slid from 2023 delivery to early 2024, there are now rumours that it will more likely be late 2024, apart from the possibility of the next General Election complicating the timetable even more.
I know there are many competing issues for government legislation but, with your extensive knowledge of parliamentary procedure, I would be grateful if you could reassure me that from your point of view everything is being done by the Government to implement these measures as quickly as possible, or if not, suggest what can be done to accelerate the matter.
In short, is the "realistic yet ambitious timeline" talked about by the Parliamentary Secretary, Rebecca Pow MP, realistic and ambitious enough?
Apart from the continuing damage to our countryside, there are varying statistics about the scale of the plastic deluge into our oceans. Even if 8 million metric tonnes every year ("The Story of Plastic" documentary) is an exaggeration, and even if the contribution to this from the UK is a small percentage, the damage that even a six-month delay will cause is unconscionable.
It seems to me that if a more urgent approach is possible, then it is worth pressuring those who make the decisions to give this the higher priority it deserves.
Yours sincerely
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