§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to require returns of hazardous wastes to be made to his Department on an annual basis.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsThe Statistics of Trade Act, 1947, already enables information about hazardous waste to be collected by competent authorities including the Department of the Environment. Proposals for statutory annual returns to be made to central Government are not at present under consideration but the notification procedure proposed under the Deposit of Poisonous Waste Bill will enable local authorities to collate information about the wastes which fall within that procedure. The Bill imposes a duty on local authorities to keep records and my Department will have access to these, as necessary.