§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what the Government's policy is on building new(a) incinerators and (b) waste to energy plants; [100475]
(2) what guidance she has issued to local authorities about building new (a) incinerators and (b) waste to energy plants; [100476]
(3) what percentage of UK waste the Government expect to dispose of through (a) incinerators and (b) waste to energy plants in the next five years. [100474]
§ Mr. MeacherWaste Strategy 2000 (Cm4693-2) sets out our policies for sustainable waste management and the steps to achieving them. Minimising waste production and maximising re-use and recycling of waste are central to that policy.
Our policy on municipal waste incinerators or other energy from waste facilities is that they should only be considered where it can be shown that they are appropriately sized so that they would not "crowd out" recycling. They should also include, wherever possible, combined heat and power systems which produce electricity and provide effective heating for homes and businesses.
The Government have no plans for the number of incinerators or other energy from waste facilities that local authorities should provide, nor are there any targets for the production of energy from waste. The Regulatory Impact Assessment of Waste Strategy 2000 (published in Annex C of Part 2 of the strategy) assessed a variety of waste management scenarios and provided broad ranges for numbers of required facilities. Variables included different projections for waste growth, different mixes of waste management facilities, and differing levels of participation in recycling schemes. A similar exercise was carried out by the Strategy Unit and published in their report "Waste not, Want not" in November last year.
§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the self-reported breaches of emissions regulations by waste incinerator operators for(a) 2001 and (b) 2002. [102204]
§ Mr. MeacherThe numbers of breaches of emission limits recorded by the Environment Agency for municipal waste incinerators in(a) 2001 and (b) 2002 are shown in the table.
507W
1 January to 31 December 2001 HC1 S02 NOx CO PM Cd and TI Hg Other Metals1 HF Dioxins VOCs2 NH32 Total Edmonton (LW) 2 0 6 29 2 0 0 0 0 0 - - 39 Lewisham (Onyx SELCHP) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - 1 Bolton (GMW) 5 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - 9 TOTAL 79 6 19 135 11 0 0 0 0 0 - - 250
1 January to 31 December 2001 HC1 SO2 NOx CO PM Cd and TI Hg Other Metals3 HF Dioxins VOCs NH3 Total Dudley (MES) 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Wolverhampton (MES)4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Billingham (SITA) 2 11 3 11 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 30 Coventry (C and S WDC)4 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 9 Tyseley (Onyx) 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Nottingham (WRE)4 1 0 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Sheffield (Onyx)4 1 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 Stoke (MES)3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Edmonton (LW) 2 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Lewisham (Onyx SELCHP) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Bolton (GMW) 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Huddersfield(SITA)4.5 3 2 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 TOTAL 23 16 8 47 5 0 0 1 0 1 4 0 105 Notes
1 Antimony, arsenic, lead, chromium, cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, vanadium and their compounds taken together in total
2 VOC and ammonia breaches recording commenced in 2002
3 1 January to 30 September 2002
4 January to 30 June 2002
5 Commenced operation in 2002
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs where(a) incinerators and (b) waste to energy plant, feature in the Government's waste hierarchy. [100692]
§ Mr. MeacherThe waste hierarchy, in Waste Strategy 2000 (Cm 4693–1) sets out the order in which options for waste management should be considered based on environmental impact. Following the hierarchy the best option is reduction (waste minimisation) followed in order by re-use, recycling, composting, energy recovery, and disposal.