Waste Prevention (Hansard, 23 July 1996)

§ Mr. Gary Waller (Keighley)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to enable certain local authorities to investigate what measures are needed to reduce, prevent or avoid waste in their area; to take such steps as they consider appropriate in order to achieve that end; and for related purposes. Reducing waste can make good economic as well as environmental sense, not just for the country, but for industries and individual companies. Nowhere has that imperative been set out more clearly than by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales in their foreword to the Government's White Paper, "Making Waste Work", a strategy for sustainable waste management, published in December last year. They presented the central message: more sustainable waste practices need not entail great expense or restrictive legislation. Indeed they can bring substantial savings to business. We can achieve a long-term sustainable balance between the environmental and economic impacts of different waste management options and feel the benefits now. The theme of the Bill is in tune with that approach, as it certainly does not involve great expense or restrictive legislation. On the contrary, it contains enabling powers that are intended to encourage waste collection authorities to adopt a proactive stance in their dealings with both the domestic and commercial sectors in their areas.

Co-operation between local authorities and local industry is essential. I am in a fortunate position, as a waste minimisation project has been established, which is being led by the Keighley Business Forum. The forum has been described as a dynamic self-help group of 360 companies whose key aims are to regenerate the local business economy and improve performance. In March this year, it succeeded with a skills challenge bid for its initial project involving 23 companies, both large and small. The bid won a special merit award as one of the six best schemes in the country.

As the forum points out, individual companies are unlikely to have the management skills, systems, resources or technical knowledge to achieve the full benefits in terms of environmental improvements and energy efficiency savings of waste minimisation. At least a further 40 companies are expected to participate in its forthcoming expanded scheme, demonstrating the keen interest that exists in this field. It has already been found that the cross-fertilisation of ideas and approaches is one of the greatest benefits to be obtained.

The waste saving project managed by the forum has gained the support of the Yorkshire and Humberside Government office, the BOC Foundation, the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, Bradford council, and Bradford and district training and enterprise council. It is also linked to Keighley's successful bid for funding from the single regeneration budget, which has the potential to create many new jobs in the town, as well as greatly improving the infrastructure and environment.

150 In the first phase of the project, a series of nine half-day seminars will take place between September and December this year on a range of different techniques of waste minimisation, including analysing the potential for saving within the production process, better planned maintenance, avoiding unnecessary use of gas and electricity, and taking advantage of opportunities in terms of the recycling and disposal of hard waste, water and effluents.

From that point, with the aid of specialised consultants, companies will be able to carry out waste minimisation audits, and start to formulate their own action plans. For example, Yorkshire Water will be supporting a pilot programme on water minimisation, and will offer a free water audit to companies participating in the scheme.

The initial cost of taking the first steps along the path of eliminating waste need not be great. Companies can participate in the Keighley business forum's project for as little as £60, and there is the possibility of substantial paybacks in due course. However, success demands the continuing commitment of senior management. The forum has stated: Waste management is not a destination but a journey. The Government have set out clear objectives: to reduce the amount of waste that society produces, and to make the best possible use of it. In this way, we can minimise the risks of immediate and future environment pollution and harm to human health. Targets can often help, and we have set clear and realistic ones: to reduce the proportion of controlled waste going to landfill from 70 per cent. to 60 per cent. by 2005, and to recover value from 40 per cent. of municipal waste by the same date. The worth of efforts to achieve these targets can be better appreciated if we understand that, in England and in Wales, we produce enough waste to fill Lake Windermere every nine months.

Waste reduction is not something that only concerns companies—it concerns all of us as individuals. The Government, in their 1990 White Paper on the environment, set out a household waste target that involves the recycling or composting of a quarter of all household waste by 2000. Among the key factors in achieving that target is joint action by householders and by local authorities. The latter must ensure that bottle banks are available, and must arrange their waste collection and disposal facilities in such a way that material that can be recycled is separated. Many householders are already used to putting recyclable waste into green bins, the contents of which are collected separately.

The Women's Environmental Network, which is supporting me in the drafting of the Bill, has suggested a number of practical ways in which waste saving can be promoted by local authorities: for example, by publicising cheap repair schemes for household items such as vacuum cleaners and washing machines, which may otherwise, be disposed of if they go wrong; by persuading local restaurants to cut down on the unnecessary waste of food; by discouraging businesses from producing unnecessary publications and paper; and by finding ways of reducing product packaging.

151 I stress that waste saving makes good sense: it improves the image of companies, it can increase their income, and it gives individuals a stake in an essential drive towards a more sustainable environment. The Bill sends signals that are right for our time, and I hope that it will be supported.