Not so long ago, I had my first meeting with one of our more recent ministers responsible for waste and recycling – I can’t remember which Lord it was (they change so regularly), but I do recall his opening statement: “You must remember this is a deregulatory government.” You might say it was an assertive exercise in managing my expectations, but it certainly served to set the tone for the meeting.

Indeed, it sets the tone for much that the present government in Westminster does, and is notably different in tone to the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales in particular.

As a mantra, it applies across departments and one can find plenty of examples of public policy where the approach clearly dominates. From time to time, the powerful and stealthy influence of big business is exposed as the unhealthy collaboration between companies and this deregulatory government combines for their mutual benefit, rather than necessarily for the benefit or indeed the health of us, the hapless ordinary voters.

One recent high-profile example comes to mind – that of the announcement by the government that it is ‘postponing’ plans to require cigarettes to be sold in plain packaging with the reason being they feel we need to wait to see the results of the policy in Australia. Now, whether the Conservatives’ campaign-guru-cum-Big-Tobacco-lobbyist Lynton Crosby is the force behind this decision we can easily speculate about, but the fact is that yet again the government has railed against a regulatory approach that would visibly improve public health and appears to have kicked it into the long grass under the influence of the industry lobby.

Various medical groups, charities and research organisations howled in protest, and cited recent evidence from Australia (now published in BMJ, the magazine previously known as the British Medical Journal) that the plain packaging policy combined with a stark health message on pack is already having the effect of reducing smokers’ satisfaction and making them think their cigarettes are poorer quality.

As ever, the government chooses its evidence to suit its policy and the excuse of waiting for the Aussies to report is clearly a smokescreen. The lack of a robust evidence base didn’t stop Eric Pickles’s Weekly Collection Support Scheme, did it?!

We may have a parallel in our own sector, with the recent publication of draft proposals for a Waste Prevention Plan (as required to comply with the revised Waste Framework Directive). The high hopes that many had for a coherent policy that combined intelligent regulation, new green fiscal measures, and work on product standards to eliminate the most wasteful products have all been dashed. Even the levy on single-use carrier bags appears to have disappeared into the same long grass as the plain cigarette packaging proposals.

Now, I am not suggesting that there is some sinister Big Waste equivalent of Big Tobacco trying to spike anything progressive on waste prevention – the thinness of the policy is more likely to be the result of HM Treasury and the ingrained deregulatory position of Defra ministers – but what we have is a huge disappointment as it misses a great opportunity to deliver environmental benefits that are good for the economy and society.

Still, I suppose we must be grateful for small mercies. At least the government didn’t try to combine its antipathy to plain cigarette packaging with its low-key approach to waste prevention. How might it have done this? By selling them loose of course...