Opening their new inquiry into waste reduction the Committee will hear evidence from three government departments – the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). 

Among the issues being considered by the Committee are: what roles design and the use of different materials have on the creation of waste; does the current regulatory and legal framework incentivise the development of more sustainable products and processes and what is and should be the role of Government in addressing waste reduction?

Lord O’Neill of Clackmannan, chair of the Science and Technology Sub-Committee on Waste Reduction, said:

“Reducing the amount of waste we produce is now a priority for local and national government as well as the EU. However the focus has often been on changing the way we dispose of our rubbish rather than attempting to tackle the problem further up the production cycle.

“Our inquiry will explore how production processes can be changed, and materials selected more carefully to ensure far less waste is produced in the first place.

“We have received some excellent written evidence and will be hearing from a wide range of witnesses as the inquiry progresses. This first evidence session, with three government departments, should help us find out exactly what the Government proposes to do about the UK’s waste problem.”