Member

On this note, the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, asked about safety and raw meat in garden waste. The garden waste stream does not include uncooked meat or waste products of animal origin, but food waste does, so these can now be co-collected. Under the existing requirements, waste collectors must always dispose of co-collected food and garden waste at a composting site that complies with the animal by-products regulations to ensure that the pathogen risks are appropriately mitigated. Clearly, we need to ensure that we have the right temperatures for disposing of such waste in order for it to be safe. The noble Lord mentioned WRAP data. We understand from WRAP that at least 41 councils collected mixed food and garden waste in 2022-23. There are ways of managing this in place already.