General

11th Nov 2021

UK Environment Legislation Becomes Law...

Started by Martin White

Legislation that will protect and enhance our environment for future generations has now passed into UK law.

The Act will help clean up the country’s air, restore natural habitats, increase biodiversity, reduce waste and make better use of our resources.

It will halt the decline in species by 2030, require new developments to improve or create habitats for nature, and tackle deforestation overseas.

It will help us transition to a more circular economy, incentivising people to recycle more, encouraging businesses to create sustainable packaging, making household recycling easier and stopping the export of polluting plastic waste to developing countries.

These changes will be driven by new legally binding environmental targets, and enforced by a new, independent Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) which will hold government and public bodies to account on their environmental obligations.

The Environment Act will deliver:

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
Simplify 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

Read the Full Press Release Here;
www.gov.uk/government/news/world-leading-environment-act-becomes-law