Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England consultation - Which? response

Summary

Which? welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation on Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England. We have been calling for action to make it easier for consumers to do the right thing by recycling and welcome many of the Government’s proposals.

• We support the Government’s proposals to increase consistency in the materials collected for household recycling. The inconsistency in recycling schemes across the country and even within regions was identified as a significant barrier to higher recycling rates in our 2019 investigation
• In order for consistent recycling schemes to be successful, communication of recycling information for consumers must also be improved.
• We strongly support the Government’s intention to introduce consistent food waste collections across England. The need for this has been highlighted by Which? investigations.
• We also support the Government’s proposal that food waste should be collected separately from other waste. Research shows that participation rates tend to be higher for separate collections than for mixed collections. At the same time, the Government must also focus on how to support households in reducing the amount of food that is wasted from the outset.
• We welcome Government action to increase rates of garden waste recycling, which should bring significant environmental benefits, and support proposals to introduce free minimum standard garden waste collections.