Environment

The long-awaited waste strategy for England has been delayed again and will not be published until after the local government elections in May.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has already put back publication of the strategy so it can digest the findings of Sir Michael Lyons’ inquiry into local government.

He eventually released his final report last month, only a week before the break-up of Parliament, and a Defra spokeswoman said this had not given the government enough time to finalise the strategy before the start of local election campaigns.

It is understood that the waste strategy will include proposals to generate more energy from waste, and will also look to improve the current low rates of plastics recycling, although this will be boosted by plans for a PET recycling plant in London.

When it was finally published, Lyons’ report proposed that the government should consider allowing local authorities to charge for the collection of domestic waste.