§ Mr. Sydney Irvingasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make a further statement on the action he intends to take, towards the implementation of the objectives set out in the Green Paper "War on Waste ", with particular regard to the collection and recycling of waste paper, so far as his departmental responsibilities are concerned;
(2) what representations he has received from voluntary organisations about the current situation regarding the collection and recycling of waste paper; and what advice he has given to these organisations about this problem;
(3) what advice he has given to local authorities about the current situation regarding the collection and recycling of 37W waste paper; and what representations he has received from local authorities about this problem.
§ Mr. OakesI have received representations from a number of local authorities and voluntary organisations who are concerned at the recent fall in demand for waste paper, although the medium- and long-term prospects are good.
The Green Paper "War on Waste" made it clear that it was not enough to increase the collection of waste paper. We must also increase industry's ability to use the paper that is collected. In particular, we must try to minimise the short-term fluctuations in demand which do much to discourage salvage. An Advisory Group on the Recycling of Waste Paper, under the chairmanship of my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, is at present working on all these problems.
The advisory group is also considering what practical advice we can give to local authorities and voluntary organisations to help them to make paper salvage scheme a success.