The Environment Act has now become law – Environment Secretary George Eustice said the Act will crack down on water companies that discharge sewage into rivers, waterways and coastlines.

The Act brings into force legislation intended to improve air and water quality, tackle waste, increase recycling, halt the decline of species, and improve the natural environment.

It will halt the decline in species by 2030, require new developments to improve or create habitats for nature, and tackle deforestation overseas.

It also aims to:

• help the transition to a more circular economy incentivise people to recycle more
• encourage businesses to create sustainable packaging
• make household recycling easier
• stop the export of polluting plastic waste to developing countries.

The changes will be driven by new legally binding environmental targets, and enforced by a new, independent Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) which will hold government and public bodies to account on their environmental obligations.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said:

“The Environment Act will deliver the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on earth.

“It will halt the decline of species by 2030, clean up our air and protect the health of our rivers, reform the way in which we deal with waste and tackle deforestation overseas.

“The UK will now be able to go further than ever before to clamp down on illegal deforestation and protect rainforests, through a package of measures will ensure that greater resilience, traceability and sustainability are built into the UK’s supply chains.”

The Environment Act includes a new legally binding target on species abundance for 2030, which will help to reverse declines of iconic British species like the hedgehog, red squirrel and water vole.

It will also see a duty enshrined in law to ensure water companies secure a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from storm overflows. New duties will also require the government to publish a plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows by September 2022 and report to Parliament on the progress towards implementing the plan.

Emma Howard Boyd CBE, Chair of the Environment Agency, commented:

“We need strong laws, investment by the private sector and clear, well-funded regulation to protect the environment. Without this, we will not see the progress we all want.

“The new legal targets for water in the Environment Act today will help wider efforts to tackle pollution, reduce demand for water and secure clean and plentiful water for all.

It is good to see these laws pass as we work to protect the natural world, help people to stay safe from flooding and support communities, businesses and government to make the country more resilient to climate shocks.”

The Act also creates the Office for Environmental Protection was set up in an interim, non-statutory form in July, providing independent oversight of the Government’s environmental progress and accelerating the foundation of the full body. The OEP will formally commence its statutory functions shortly.

Dame Glenys Stacey, Chair of the OEP said:

“The Environment Act is a cornerstone of the government’s ambitions to tackle ever more pressing environmental issues.

“I am delighted that the Act creates the independent Office for Environmental Protection, and gives us the tools for our job – to protect and improve the environment by holding government and public authorities to account. We are well underway with establishing a functionally independent, fully operational OEP from early in the new year.

“There has never been a more crucial time for us all to work to protect and improve our environment. The OEP will play its full part.”