§ Mr. Sharpasked the President of the Board of Trade what bonus payment is now being made to stimulate the collection of waste paper; what is the procedure whereby this payment is made; whether recent collections compare favourably with those made during the war; and what action he is taking to persuade local authorities and other collecting agencies to increase their efforts.
§ Mr. BelcherA bonus payment of £1 per ton on every ton of waste paper collected and sold by local authorities in excess of 80 per cent. of the tonnage collected and sold in the preceding six-monthly period is being paid to stimulate collections. Payment is made on the basis of returns of sales by local authorities properly certified. Recent collections have not compared favourably with those made during the war, the tonnage having declined from the peak of 433,403 tons in 1942 to 221,318 tons in 1946. They have, however, been increasing slowly since 1st January, 1945, when the bonus system was introduced. Further measures are84W under consideration to bring home to the public and local authorities the continuing importance of salvage through Press publicity and other means.