Let’s Recycle have published information regarding the UK’s re-affirmed commitment to recycling 65% of municipal waste by 2035 – they have set out the approach to transposing the EU circular economy package (CEP) into domestic law.

The UK’s own Circular Economy Package was published last week by the UK, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland governments. Primarily the same as the European CEP, it includes objectives such as sending no more than 10% municipal waste to landfill by 2035.

No longer applying in the UK following Brexit, the EU Circular Economy Package was approved in April 2018.

Environment minister Rebecca Pow stated: “We are committed to increasing our recycling rates and reducing the amount of waste that is sent to landfill to create a cleaner waste industry and reduce carbon emissions. Through our landmark environment bill we will be bringing forward a raft of measures to do just that, and this new Circular Economy Package takes us yet another step forward to transforming our waste industry.”

The package restricts the materials which can be landfilled or incinerated and includes a requirement that waste separately collected for recycling must not be incinerated or sent to landfill. A full breakdown of measures and proposed approaches to transposition can be seen here.

The government says the CEP confirms that future national waste plans for England will set out the measures the UK will take to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035 and to have no more than 10% municipal waste going to landfill by 2035.