§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance is given to Government Departments in relation to(a) recycling of waste products, (b) purchase of materials which are recycled, and (c) purchases of materials from renewable sources; what plans there are to change such guidance; and if he will make a statement. [65597]
§ Mr. MeacherI have been asked to reply.
The Government's policy on these issues is currently set out in the "Model Framework for Greening Government Operations", that was issued in 1998 and is on DEFRA's Greening Government website: http://defraweb/environment/greening/conserve/conserve.htm. This will be replaced by a new Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate that will be rolled out during the current financial year and set targets for all key operational areas of the Government estate, including waste management and procurement.
The Greening Government website also provides guidance on recycling waste products, e.g. in the "Waste Guide—Advice for Government Departments". The procurement page on that site also contains guidance on purchasing recycled materials, e.g. Part 2 of the "Green Guide for Buyers" contains best practice advice on 'Resource Efficiency' covering the four "Rs", and there is specific guidance in Part 3 covering paper and IT equipment. URL: http://defraweb/en vironment/greening/greenpro/greenpro.htm There are also links to other sources of information such as the Buy Recycled Programme's Products Guide and the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
There are plans to revise the "Waste Guide". The Secretary of State has also set up a cross-Government Sustainable Procurement Group that will report to Ministers this summer on using the Government's purchasing power to promote sustainable development and encourage innovation and the supply of environmentally preferable goods and services. Their report due in July will, among other things, look at how the Government can increase its purchases of re-manufactured and recycled goods.