Telford MP Lucy Allan has welcomed the Environment Bill, Across the board, major steps will be taken to protect our environment, through better management of waste and recycling, clean air monitoring and water management. The Environment Act will enshrine in law long-term targets to improve the natural environment, air quality, biodiversity, water and waste reduction. These will include:
- A target on ambient PM2.5 concentrations, the most harmful pollutant to human health
- A target to halt the decline of nature by 2030
- Environmental Improvement Plans, including interim targets
- A cycle of environmental monitoring and reporting
- Environmental Principles embedded in domestic policy making
- Creation of the Office for Environmental Protection to uphold environmental law
In addition to these world-leading measures to reinforce and strengthen environmental targets, the new Environment Bill makes improvements in several major areas:
WASTE & RECYCLING
- Extend producer responsibility to make producers pay for 100% of cost of disposal of products, starting with plastic packaging
- A deposit Return Scheme for single use drinks containers
- Charges for single use plastics
- Greater consistency in recycling collections in England
- Electronic waste tracking to monitor waste movements and tackle fly-tipping
- Tackle waste crime
- Power to introduce new resource efficiency information (labelling on the recyclability and durability of products)
- Regulate shipment of hazardous waste
- Ban or restrict export of waste to non-OECD countries
CLEAN AIR
- Require Local Authorities to tackle air quality
- Amplify enforcement within smoke control areas
NATURE
- Strengthened biodiversity duty
- Biodiversity net gain to ensure developments deliver at least 10% increase in biodiversity
- Local Nature Recovery Strategies to support a Nature Recovery Network
- Duty upon Local Authorities to consult on street tree felling
- Strengthen woodland protection enforcement measures
- Conservation Covenants
- Protected Site Strategies and Species Conservation Strategies to support the design and delivery of strategic approaches to deliver better outcomes for nature
- Prohibit larger UK businesses from using commodities associated with wide-scale deforestation
- Requires regulated businesses to establish a system of due diligence for each regulated commodity used in their supply chain, requires regulated businesses to report on their due diligence, introduces a due diligence enforcement system
WATER
- Effective collaboration between water companies through statutory water management plans
- Drainage and sewerage management planning a statutory duty
- Minimise damage water abstraction may cause on environment
- Modernise the process for modifying water and sewerage company licence conditions
Photo above: Lucy Allan MP with Environment Minister Rebecca Pow on a visit to the Gorge
