Government waste review - a missed opportunity

Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, Mary Creagh responded to the publication of the waste review on 14 June. She said:

"The Government’s policies for getting rid of rubbish are in chaos. They have broken their promise on bin collections and recycling. The waste review is a missed opportunity and will leave England with the weakest recycling targets in the UK. The Government have cut funding to tackle littering and failed to set out an ambitious target for recycling.

"We need strong leadership to create green jobs through recycling and a greater focus on food waste, which costs families on average £50 a month. The policy review says more about the infighting going in Government between Eric Pickles and Caroline Spelman than it does about tackling waste. The Tories risk turning back the clock on progress Labour made on recycling over the last decade. Defra is still a department in special measures after this failed review."

Labour secured an Urgent Question in the House of Commons on 14 June to hold ministers to account. Read the debate here: www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110614/debtext/110614-0001.htm

Watch again on Parliament TV here: www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx

Read media coverage of the issue here:

www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b59053e0-96d5-11e0-aed7-00144feab49a.html

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/ministers_forced_to_dump_pledge_over_weekly_bin_collections_1_3478910

www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/14/government-scraps-weekly-bin-collections