Non-packaging Plastic Waste

HL Deb 10 November 1999 vol 606 cc166-7WA

Lord Inglewood

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have any plans to include non-packaging waste plastic products within the regime which currently applies to packaging waste. [HL4524]

Lord Whitty

In the case of farm films and plastic sheeting, which are one type of non-packaging waste plastic, my department issued a consultation paper in October 1998, which received a fairly limited response. Subsequently we have been reassessing the proposals for a new industry initiative based on the Government's commitment to apply waste management controls to agricultural waste which is not excluded under Article 2 of the amended Framework Directive on waste. This means that most agricultural waste will be subject to the controls which apply to "controlled waste". The commitment was most recently confirmed in the waste strategyA Way With Waste, which was published on 30 June.

We will make a further statement in the light of this work. Other waste streams may also generate non-packaging plastic waste such as electrical and electronic goods, on which a proposal for a Directive has been made by the European Commission.