Tearfund’s Senior Campaigner Joanne Green said: “Tearfund has been campaigning for people in poverty overseas to have access to waste collection and it is very encouraging to hear the UK Government step up its work on this issue.
“Two billion people don’t have their waste collected and at Tearfund we see the consequences of this every day. Blocked drains and rotting rubbish cause flooding and diaorrhoea, whilst toxic fumes from backyard burning are linked to 270,000 deaths each year.
“Today’s announcements from the Prime Minister shows much needed leadership and will make a difference. As we build on successful programmes and understand better what works, we will need to go further and see all developed country governments commit to spend 3% of all aid cash on providing these services.
“Only delivering on that target would cut the quantity of plastics entering the oceans in half and reach all 2 billion people without waste collection.”