HC Deb 05 March 2002 vol 381 cc217-8W
Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the UK strategy is with respect to the EU Landfill Directive, for the disposal of liquid waste; and what the locations are of sites capable of treating liquid waste. [38276]

Mr. Meacher

The forthcoming Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations which will implement the regulatory and technical requirements of the Landfill Directive will ban the landfilling of hazardous liquid wastes from July 2002 as required by the Directive. The Directive also requires that non-hazardous liquids are banned from landfill 'as soon as possible' and no later than July 2009. The Government are working with the Environment Agency and the waste industry to set a date within these parameters for the ban on non-hazardous liquids to come into effect.

The Department does not hold details of the locations of individual treatment facilities for liquid waste and to collate it would be disproportionately costly.

Mr. Sayeed

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government have to extend the principle of producer responsibility to other groups who benefit from the sale, purchase and use of cars and other consumer goods. [38125]

Mr. Wilson

I have been asked to reply.

The End of Life Vehicles Directive (2000/53/EC) defines "producers" and sets down the responsibilities they have for vehicle design and composition, and at end-of-life; the Directive also defines "economic operators", and sets down ELV recovery and recycling targets which must be achieved by 2006 and 2015. The Government are currently considering how they wish these producer responsibilities to be discharged, and how the targets should be met. The current draft of the proposed EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive contains similar provisions. The Department has undertaken also to publish shortly a discussion paper on a possible producer responsibility model for tyres. Consideration is also being given within Government to producer responsibility initiatives for direct mail and non-packaging farm plastics.

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