§ Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether agreement has been reached in the EEC on a common standard of biodegradability for detergents.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsYes. One directive agreed by the Council of Ministers specifies an average level of 90 per cent. biodegradability for anionic, nonionic, cationic and ampholytic detergents. This is the level already voluntarily achieved in the United Kingdom for the detergents most widely used here. The second directive sets out the test methods to be used for determining the level of biodegradability of anionic detergents.