HC Deb 11 November 1997 vol 300 cc487-8W
Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the landfill sites where disposal of(a) clinical waste, (b) radioactive waste and (c) special waste is permitted, and where no liner is in place within the landfill site. [14525]

Angela Eagle

Site licences and supporting information is available on the public register. The information is not available in the form requested. However, the Environment Agency is undertaking work to provide a fuller response, and I will write to the hon. Member.

Mr. Baker

To aske the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many landfill sites have been in operation in England in each of the last 10 years; and how many, in each year, have operated with no liner in place on all part of the site. [14526]

Angela Eagle

There are currently a total of 1,838 sites of which 256 are notes as lined or leachate managed and 1,582 where liner and leachate management is not mentioned. Some of these sites may, however, be lined or leachate managed. Data for site licences prior to 1997 are also publicly available, but additional time would be needed to undertake the numerical analysis as these data were originally collected by the individual waste regulation authorities-prior to the establishment of the Environment Agency in April 1996. The information could not, therefore, be obtained other than at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions at what percentage of landfill sites in England the methane produced is used to feed electricity into the national grid. [14530]

Angela Eagle

The Environment Agency is responsible for waste regulation in England and Wales. Separate figures are not immediately available for England. However, 499 landfill sites in England and Wales accept significant amounts of biodegradable waste which will generate methane; 108 of these sites extract the methane gas and flare it; 52 sites utilise the methane they extract to produce electricity. This represents 10.4 per cent. of the sites that are capable of producing methane.

Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in what circumstances landfill sites are allowed to operate with no liner. [14531]

Angela Eagle

Any planning permission or site licence granted for landfill in the past 10 years will have been based on a site specific risk assessment, which will have established the need for, and specification and performance standard of, a liner system. This accords with the guidance provided in Waste Management Paper 26B. There will be examples where the risk assessment confirms that no liner or specific containment system is necessary in order to achieve the required environmental protection. In these cases the site can operate without a liner. Considerations will include the nature of the wastes and prediction of degradation processes (inert or biodegradable wastes), site characteristics (natural clay containment of fissured limestone) and proposed after use. The approach is therefore based on the concept of deriving design performance standards through the use of probabilistic risk assessment, to estimate an acceptable impact on the surrounding environment.