New Environment Secretary to ‘reconsider’ mandatory food waste reporting

In an announcement yesterday evening (22 November),  Defra explained that a previous consultation response published earlier this year saying that voluntary reporting will be explored has now been withdrawn.

Instead, the new Environment Secretary Steve Barclay will instead “explore” mandatory reporting by large businesses.

Defra first ran the consultation in 2022 (see letsrecycle.com story), which set out three options for food waste reporting. These were: Do nothing, require food waste measurement and reporting for large businesses or enhance voluntary agreements.

Consultation

Of the 3,851 people and businesses who responded to the consultation, 80% were in favour of mandating businesses to report food waste volumes, Defra’s response in July outlined.

However, the department said at the time that only 39% of the consultation respondents identified as large businesses, implying that a majority of those supporting mandatory reporting would not be directly affected by the proposed regulatory policy. Defra said instead it will explore voluntary reporting (see letsrecycle.com story).

An impact assessment revealed that reporting carried significant costs, estimating an average annual reporting cost of £5.3 million for businesses. Over a 12-year period, the total cost for mandatory reporting was projected to be £63.8 million.  Additionally, “substantial costs” were expected for the public sector in setting up and implementing the regulations, further contributing to the government’s decision to step back from the regulatory approach.

The government acknowledged the need to strike a balance between environmental priorities and the economic burden on businesses and consumers, especially considering prevailing cost-of-living challenges. Given the relatively high costs associated with mandatory reporting, the government concluded that a regulatory approach was not suitable at this time.

‘Reversed’

However, after replacing Thérèse Coffey in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, Steve Barclay has now reversed this decision.
An announcement by Defra outlined that the consultation response has now been removed while mandatory options are explored.

Defra said: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will reconsider whether there should be mandatory food waste reporting in the future. The government response to this consultation has been withdrawn.”