§ 81. Sir Trevor SkeetTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the total volume per week of(a) domestic, (b) coal and (c) nuclear waste; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe amount of waste produced varies from week to week and year to year. The volume of waste produced may not be the same as that which is disposed of; some volumes may be reduced by compaction or incineration; others may be increased by solidification of liquids or stabilisation of reactive solids.
Approximate figures for the volume of domestic, coal and nuclear waste are as follows:
- (a) Domestic (England and Wales)—120 million cu m per annum of loose waste or about 2,300,000 cu m per week (based on arisings of 18 million tonnes per annum and assuming a weight of 150 kgm per cu m).
- (b) Coal (British Coal deep mined: England, Scotland and Wales)—25 million cu m per annum of non toxic material which is not a controlled waste under the Control of Pollution Act 1974.
- (c) Nuclear (United Kingdom)—46,050 cu m per annum of waste conditioned for safe storage or disposal (of which 30 cu m is high-level waste, 1,920 cu m intermediate level waste, and 44,100 cu m low-level waste), or about 886 cu m per week.