Defra has today (31 January) announced its 2028 interim waste targets to reduce waste and make ‘it easier for people to do the right thing’. The targets apply to waste from plastic, glass, metal, paper, and food, and were originally expected in October 2022 but were delayed by Defra.

Material Recycling Facility

The targets come as part of a five-year interim delivery plan in keeping with the 2021 Environment Act. The Act is the legally binding commitment to the 25-Year Environment Plan, which sets out the Government’s actions ‘to help the natural world regain and retain good health’. It is to be reviewed every five years. The interim waste targets The interim targets – set for 31 January 2028 – are: Reduce residual waste (excluding major mineral waste) produced per person by 24 per cent; Reduce residual waste (excluding major mineral waste) in total tonnes by 21 per cent; Reduce municipal residual waste produced per person by 29 per cent; Reduce residual municipal food waste produced per person by 50 per cent; Reduce residual municipal plastic waste produced per person by 45 per cent; Reduce residual municipal paper and card waste produced per person by 26 per cent; Reduce residual municipal metal waste produced per person by 42 per cent; Reduce residual municipal glass waste produced per person by 48 per cent. Defra lists extended producer responsibility (EPR), the forthcoming deposit return scheme (DRS), and single-use plastic bans amongst the methods which will help it reach the interim targets. Delivering the Environment Plan The 2028 targets are designed to assist in achieving the long-term targets of the 25-Year Environment Plan, which are: To eliminate avoidable waste by 2050 and double resource productivity by 2050; To explore options for the near elimination of biodegradable municipal waste to landfill from 2028; To eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2042; To seek to eliminate waste crime by 2042; To halve ‘residual’ waste (excluding major mineral waste) produced per person by 2042. For the purposes of the target, Defra defines ‘residual’ waste as waste that is sent to landfill, put through incineration or used in energy recovery in the UK, or that is sent overseas to be used in energy recovery. The environmental principles policy statement was also published today and requires environmental protection and enhancement to be embedded into the design and development of new policy across all government departments from 1 November 2023. Environment Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, said: “Our Environmental Improvement Plan sets out how we will continue to improve our environment here in the UK and around the world. Nature is vital for our survival, crucial to our food security, clean air, and clean water as well as health and well-being benefits. “We have already started the journey and we have seen improvements. We are transforming financial support for farmers and landowners to prioritise improving the environment, we are stepping up on tree planting, we have cleaner air, we have put a spotlight on water quality and rivers and are forcing industry to clean up its act.” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added: “This plan provides the blueprint for how we will deliver our commitment to leave our environment in a better state than we found it, making sure we drive forward progress with renewed ambition and achieve our target of not just halting, but reversing the decline of nature.”