Mary Creagh

What a pleasure it is to be back and serving under your esteemed chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank all honourable colleagues for their kind words on my return to the House after my short enforced sabbatical. Can I say how thrilled I am to respond to this debate? As an Environment Minister, I know that everyone’s environment starts outside their own front door. It is clear from the passion in this room that those on all sides of the House care deeply about the need to educate people on the fact that there is no such place as “away”. There is no throwing away. There are only materials that come into our possession, get used and are then disposed of, and the disposal and collection of those materials is essential if we are to create a circular economy. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) for securing this debate and pay tribute to LAGER Can, who are here, and the many community groups up and down the country, including my local Ball Hill residents’ association in Coventry East, that organise litter picks and are stepping in to fill the gap left by 14 years of devastating cuts—two-thirds cuts—to local authority spending power caused by the Conservatives.