HC Deb 24 June 2004 vol 422 cc1440-3
6. Sue Doughty (Guildford) (LD)

If she will make a statement on progress on the preparation of European Union directives relating to the disposal of hazardous waste. [180209]

The Minister for the Environment and Agri-environment (Mr. Elliot Morley)

Preparation of EU directives rests with the European Commission. Several existing directives relate to the disposal of hazardous waste. The main ones are: the hazardous waste directive, the landfill directive and the waste incineration directive. Each is at various stages of implementation.

Sue Doughty

I am particularly concerned about that answer because the landfill directive, which bans co-disposal of hazardous waste in landfill, becomes operational next month. There are insufficient sites in this country to deal with hazardous waste and we shall be faced with the prospect of thousands of lorry movements up and down the country, and of the fly-tipping of hazardous waste as lorries are turned away from the sites that they have previously used. Will the Minister stop expecting the industry to take a lead, when DEFRA has failed to do so, and will he put in place the remedies and resources necessary to deal with the problem that will arise next month?

Mr. Morley

I do not accept what the hon. Lady says. She should understand that the industry is responsible for the investment and business decisions relating to waste disposal. Our responsibility is for regulation and permitting, through the Environment Agency and the Department. Her point about insufficient sites is also wrong, because the latest projection is that there will be adequate facilities for hazardous waste disposal in this country. She needs to understand that one of the reasons behind the change is the need to reduce the amount of hazardous waste going into landfill. At the moment, 60 per cent. of the hazardous waste stream is contaminated topsoil. We have recently heard that a major site that would otherwise have provided 400,000 tonnes of contaminated topsoil will instead bring in machinery to treat the soil on site. That is an example of exactly the kind of thing that we want to encourage.

Mr. Bill O'Brien (Normanton) (Lab)

I certainly support my colleague in pressing to reduce the amount of hazardous waste that is being produced. However, there are genuine concerns that, when the new rules come in next month, the amount of fly-tipping will increase as the cowboys who operate in the industry try to cut costs. We need the regulator—the Environment Agency—to be given the powers and resources necessary to ensure that those people are brought to justice. Will my hon. Friend also take note that the number of serious fly-tipping incidents involving hazardous waste doubled between 2001 and 2002, and that there are fears of further increases? Will he therefore ensure that the issue is given serious consideration?

Mr. Morley

Yes, I want to assure my hon. Friend that we take the issue seriously, and that we are in no way complacent about the risks created by people who try to cut corners by operating illegally. Fly-tipping is one of our priorities, and we have given new powers both to the Environment Agency and to local authorities in relation to stop and search and to the confiscation of vehicles. We are also introducing new streamlined procedures for permits, so that the people who collect hazardous waste will need authorisation to do so and will be able to be traced. I agree with my hon. Friend that we must ensure that the necessary attention and priority are given to tackling those people involved in fly-tipping, and that we make an example of them in the courts.

Mr. Simon Thomas (Ceredigion) (PC)

One concern must be that some of the hazardous waste that will now be diverted, quite appropriately, from landfill will then go to be incinerated. In that regard, what is the Government's view of the Environment Agency's proposals to allow the burning of more toxic materials in cement kilns? Many local populations accepted the burning of tyres in cement kilns as an appropriate way of dealing with that waste, but they will be very concerned that more toxic materials might be burned under the new proposals. What do the Government have to say about that?

Mr. Morley

What we say is that the very highest standards must apply when any material is burned in any incineration process. An impression has been given that a lower standard of regulation will apply to the burning of alternative fuels in cement kilns than in high-temperature incineration. That will not be the case. We will expect the Environment Agency to apply exactly the same strict standards as it applies at the moment, and each case will be considered on its individual merits.

Mr. Michael Clapham (Barnsley, West and Penistone) (Lab)

My hon. Friend will be aware that the EU large combustion plants directive is intended to reduce nitrogen and sulphur emissions. However, the two approaches that have been suggested—the national plan approach and the emission limit value approach—both threaten jobs. Will he therefore robustly tackle the Commission on adopting an effective hybrid approach that would not result in a loss of jobs and would protect British industry?

Mr. Morley

I understand my hon. Friend's point on the large combustion directive. There are two alternatives, one of which is favoured by the manufacturing sector, and one of which is favoured by the coal sector. Outcomes are important to DEFRA: we want not only environmental standards but a system that reflects the operations and needs of the particular sectors. We are, of course, considering this issue, and we are talking to the Department of Trade and Industry. We understand his point very well.

Mr. Tim Yeo (South Suffolk) (Con)

Is it not complacent to the point of irresponsible for the Minister to say, with less than a month to go, and with only five sites licensed to tackle hazardous waste, at least one of which is unlikely to come into operation, that facilities are now adequate? By trying to shove the blame on to industry, which is ready to rise to the challenge if only the Government would stop dithering over the detail of the regulations on the operation of licensed sites, the Government are trying to throw off their duties.

The Environment Agency has warned that there will be more fly-tipping. We know that there will be vast increases in the distances over which waste must be carried, and that the Government's brownfield development programme may be jeopardised by that. Will the Minister urgently address the concerns expressed by businesses, which want to meet the challenge but are unable to do so as long as confusion and dithering remain the order of the day?

Mr. Morley

First, may I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his new role? It seems that Opposition Front Benchers are more into recycling than many other people, and I welcome that.

I can be accused of many things, but complacency is not one of them. We understand that there are risks when new regulations and changes are introduced. We must work with that. We set up the hazardous waste forum with the industry, and I do not seek to put blame on the industry. I merely wish to point out that DEFRA is not in the waste disposal business. I do not know whether it is a new Tory policy to nationalise waste disposal in this country. If so, that is quite interesting.

It is not the case that the details are not available. The industry knows exactly what needs to be done. It has been involved at every stage of the process—there have been six consultations since 1999, an independent report, the Babtie report, was commissioned to examine the issue, and we regularly talk to the industry and the Environment Agency. It is true that not all the sites have yet been permitted, but the agency is working them at the moment. Fifteen merchant site applications are in, not counting in-house sites, and the Environment Agency is dealing with the applications of 37 separate cell sites.

A reduction in sites in the short term is likely, and the cost of disposals will probably increase, but that is an inducement to reduce and treat waste. We do not in any way take fly-tipping lightly. There are always risks, and we will deal with them appropriately and will certainly actively pursue the matter.