§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what percentage of households broken down by(a) government region and (b) constituency have doorstep collections of recyclable waste; and if she will make a statement; [29974]
(2) what recent efforts have been made by (a) central and (b) local government to encourage recycling of (i) household and (ii) commercial/office waste; and if she will make a statement; [29975]
(3) what percentage of household waste is recycled in the UK broken down by (a) government region and (b) constituency; which materials are most commonly and least commonly recycled within each of these areas; and if she will make a statement. [29973]
§ Mr. MeacherThe following table shows, for each Government region, the percentage of households that have some form of doorstep (kerbside) collections of recyclable waste and the percentage of household waste recycled.
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English regions 1999–2000 Percentage Region Households served by kerbside Household waste recycled North East 12 4 North West 35 7 Yorkshire and the Humber 32 6 East Midlands 55 10 West Midlands 24 9 East 63 14 London 46 10 South East 63 15 South West 58 14 England total 44 10 The estimates in the table are based on information from the DEFRA annual survey of municipal waste management. The information is not available by constituency. The most commonly recycled material in all English regions, by all forms of household recyclable collections is paper and card, which constitutes over 60 per cent. of total recyclable materials. It is not possible to accurately quantify the least commonly recycled material. The Government have set a challenging target to increase the recycling of municipal waste to 25 per cent. of household waste by 2005. To ensure that all local authorities contribute to achieving this target, the Government have set each authority in England statutory performance standards for recycling and composting of household waste. They have also encouraged best value networks and issued guidance on joint municipal waste management strategies.
We are helping councils deliver their statutory performance standards for recycling and composting through major extra funding from the Spending Review 2000. By 2003–04 revenue support will have risen by £1.1 billion over current provision; there is £220 million for PFI waste schemes over the spending review period; and there is a £140 million ring-fenced fund for waste and recycling over the next two years. £50 million of New Opportunities Fund moneys will also be available over the next two years to support community sector work on recycling in the UK.
The EC directive on packaging and packaging waste (94/62/EC) has been implemented in the UK by the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997. The directive requires that 50 per cent. of packaging waste, by weight, be recovered by 2001 half of which must be recycled, with a 15 per cent. recycling minimum per material. Much of the material to date has come from the industrial and commercial waste stream.