§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will detail all the Government initiatives aimed at encouraging the recycling of glass and paper since 1981.
§ Mr. Atkins[holding answer 17 July 1989]: I have been asked to reply.
Since 1981 the Government have been involved in a number of initiatives aimed at encouraging the recycling of glass and paper, from both the collection and processing aspects.
In July 1986 a commitment conference was held at DTI on glass recycling at which central and local government, retailers and the glass industry made a commitment to double the number of bottle banks in the five years up to 1991. Good progress is being made towards reaching this target. Following the conference, the Department of Environment held a series of seminars in each region at which local authorities discussed the benefits of glass recycling. Ministers and officials from both DTI and DOE have attended several events to promote glass recycling, including the launch of bottle bank schemes.
In January 1987, my Department organised a waste paper recycling commitment conference (printings and writings) which led to the creation of a working group to consider the formulation of specifications which would lead to increased use of recycled fibre in the printings and writings sector, particularly continuous stationery, educational wove and photocopying paper. Specifications have been formulated in these first two areas; work is continuing in the latter.
Between May and August 1989, my Department is organising a series of seminars, "Wastepaper Into Newsprint—The Case for a National Wastepaper Collection Drive", aimed at averting a perceived future shortfall in the supply of waste newspapers used as a raw material in the production of newsprint in the United Kingdom.
The DTI is taking a lead in Government in trying to encourage other Departments to use recycled paper and has recently introduced a recycled letterhead for Ministers. The DTI is also encouraging the recycling of materials including glass and paper through the educational literature it has produced for schools. These actions are part of an integrated Government approach to encourage the recycling of all materials wherever it is economically viable to do so.