WIREDGOV

Cllr Martin Tett, the Local Government Association’s Environment spokesman, on the Environmental Audit Committee’s Inquiry into plastic bottles

“These are constructive recommendations from the Environmental Audit Committee – councils are determined to work with government to tackle waste plastic and increase recycling rates.

“It’s crucial that local authorities are consulted on the introduction of any new plastic bottle deposit return scheme. If councils are to be given the responsibilities to facilitate such a service, it must be matched in funding and resources so that councils are able to successfully implement it. We look forward to seeing more detail on any proposals in due course.

“One small but effective way we can cut down on plastic waste is for premises that serve food and drink to provide free drinking water, and for water companies to provide more public water fountains in our communities, and we support these recommendations.

“To reduce the amount of unrecyclable waste we produce in the first place, it’s essential that manufacturers and retailers work with us to achieve this. What we need is packaging that is easily recyclable – this would not only make waste disposal easier for our residents, but save considerable amounts of money and energy, whilst protecting our environment.

"In the past decade, councils and residents have worked together to radically increase recycling and divert millions of tonnes of waste from landfill. We look forward to contributing further to these discussions, and playing our part in helping to reduce plastic waste.”

Report: The UK needs a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles