§ Andrew BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects a national composting standard to be put in place. [38402]
§ Mr. MeacherComprehensive standards for compost are a top priority for developing markets for organic waste derived products. They will be vital in achieving both local authority statutory targets for recycling and composting and our obligations under the landfill directive to reduce the landfill of biodegradable municipal waste.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) are currently working with the Composting Association to develop the existing industry standard for compost, launched in 2000, to achieve British Standards Institute (BSI) accreditation. The first stage is the development of a BSI Publicly Available Specification (PAS) which WRAP anticipates will be available in autumn 2002.