§ Mr. ToddTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will issue further guidance to local authorities on the methodology they should use to predict waste disposal needs. [50399]
§ Angela EagleWe have no immediate plans to do so, although my Department plans to issue a new Planning Policy Guidance Note on "Waste disposal and management" in the Autumn. Local authorities should discuss future disposal needs with waste collection authorities, with interested parties in their area, with178W neighbouring authorities, and with the Environment Agency (particularly in the context of their work on life cycle analysis).
I would also add that local authorities should not be restricting their thinking to waste disposal, but should widen their consideration to the need for recycling, composting and energy recovery facilities—thoughts on this are set out in our recently published consultation paper on the national waste strategy "Less Waste: More Value".