§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many breaches of regulations in respect of the disposal of paper pulp on agricultural land there have been in the last three years; and what action was taken against those responsible. [43640]
§ Angela Eagle[pursuant to her reply, 1 June 1998, c. 28]: Under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, it is unlawful to deposit, recover or dispose of controlled waste without a waste management licence, contrary to the conditions of a licence or in a way which causes pollution of the environment or harm to human health. Where someone purports to be carrying out an activity which is exempt from waste management licensing but fails to comply with the terms of the exemption, that person may be prosecuted under section 33 of the 1990 Act for carrying out a licensable activity without a licence. The Environment Agency is responsible for the enforcement of these provisions in England and Wales.
Most landspreading of waste is carried out under the terms of the exemption from waste management licensing in paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. I understand that the Environment Agency is developing a central prosecution database. However, I am advised that, at present, the Agency does not maintain a central record of occasions or sites on which waste may have been landspread in a manner which is inconsistent with the terms of the exemption in the 1994 Regulations.