Two months on from Sir Keir Starmer’s move to Downing Street the dust has well and truly settled on Labour’s landmark General Election win. With MPs now back in Parliament following summer recess, and Whitehall turning its focus firmly to policy development and delivery, there’s a distinct “back to school” feeling in the air.

So, what does this mean for the world of waste, and what direction might policy take under the Labour administration?

Labour’s manifesto was light on any specific policy commitments, instead speaking more broadly about reducing waste by moving to a more circular economy and focusing on other issues within the DEFRA remit including food security, biosecurity at British borders and sewage discharge. But since entering Government, the rhetoric from new Environment Secretary Steve Reed has been more strongly focused on his ambition for a zero-waste economy – putting waste and resources firmly on the map as a core priority within the new DEFRA team.

As we know, the question of waste and packaging reforms plagued the previous Government and, six years on from their initial introduction in the 25 Year Environment Plan, these reforms continue to be a point of contention amongst both industry and politicians. Following delay after delay and a lack of concrete detail around implementation, the new administration will be keen to get the job done by bringing EPR, DRS and Simpler Recycling over the line; indeed, we have already seen the publication of illustrative base fees for EPR just a matter of weeks after the General Election.

Despite ongoing challenges and disagreements over scheme structures and timelines, so far Labour has been focused on wrapping up these policies so that, frankly, they can move on to other things.

With light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to waste reform implementation, DEFRA will likely have additional bandwidth to turn attention to other policy conundrums. A contender for the next issue to be tackled by the DEFRA team is reuse and repair. This chimes with an increasing social and political will to reduce consumption and limit the amount of material that is sent to landfill or incinerators.

With reuse sitting near the top of the waste hierarchy, this will undoubtedly form a key tenet of Labour’s strategy to meet environmental targets and create a more circular economy.

Even without a formal policy framework, reuse and repair is already gaining significant traction. Many Local Authorities facilitate reuse activities through their Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs), often working in partnership with organisations and charities to prevent discarded items from becoming waste. There is, of course, a financial motivation to this through the reduction of council disposal fees and landfill tax obligations. Beyond environmental and financial benefits, there are also notable opportunities for social value enhancement through job creation and skills development.

Looking to the private sector, many supermarkets are trialling and operating in-store reuse or refill systems, offering products at discounted costs if purchased packaging-free. Various organisations have also highlighted the business case for reuse, diversifying their business models to incorporate reuse and repair.  For example, clothing giant M&S recently expanded their reuse offering from facilitating clothing donations to launching a repair service in partnership with repair and alternation company SOJO. Ikea is also preparing for a worldwide rollout of Ikea Preowned beyond its current operations in Madrid and Oslo, allowing more customers to access a second-hand Ikea marketplace.

To date, the Government focus has been on voluntary action. But mandatory obligations and reuse targets could well follow suit.

The previous Government historically teed up future reuse and refill obligations, including targets, before pivoting shortly before the election to outlining its intention to work alongside industry stakeholders on voluntary trials; but this was purely because time was running out to get things done.

As a new Government with a five-year lead time and a substantial majority to get its proposals over the line, Labour can now be far more ambitious.

From a business perspective, it’s now critical to look beyond the immediate challenges. Instead, organisations must turn their attention further ahead and consider what the debates of tomorrow will be, ensuring adequate preparation and engagement at the early stages of policy development. To this end, the time for organisations to engage with Government is now, offering expertise, experience and innovative policy solutions which can ultimately shape outcomes.

To speak to our FMCG team with specialist knowledge in waste and packaging reforms, please contact Amy Richardson: amy.richardson@grayling.com