DEFRA to be quizzed on UK's trade in waste after Brexit
What would a ‘no deal' outcome mean for the UK's trade in waste? The House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Committee will explore this, and the other implications of Brexit for the UK's trade in waste, on Wednesday 10 January. The Committee will question Dr Thérèse Coffey MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The UK exports millions of tonnes of waste to the EU each year. This session follows the Committee's roundtable discussion in November 2017, where it heard from a range of waste experts about the potential risks to this trade post-Brexit. It is particularly pertinent given China's recent ban on waste imports, potentially leaving the UK with nowhere to send its plastic for recycling.
Topics the Committee are likely to cover include:
- What barriers Brexit might pose to the UK's trade in waste.
- The risk that Brexit will result in more waste being sent to landfill in the UK.
- What will happen on the island of Ireland (where there is significant cross-border trade in waste) and Gibraltar (which currently exports all its waste to Spain).
- The Minister's long-term vision for waste and recycling in the UK.
The discussion will start at 10:00am on Wednesday 8 January and will be held in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords.
