HC Deb 27 April 1989 vol 151 cc651-3W
Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to have included in the recently completed global convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, organised under the auspices of the United Nations environment programme, radioactive wastes amongst the controlled substances.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

No. This is unnecessary. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the appropriate United Nations body dealing with all aspects of radioactive substances.

Ms. Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the figures in tonnes for imports of special waste to the United Kingdom; if he will break those figures down by country of origin; from which ports these imports left, giving figures in tonnes; and what was their destination port in the United Kingdom; in each of the last five years.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas) on 28 October 1988 at column427. It is not yet possible to update this information. Her Majesty's inspectorate of polluton expects to have the information from waste disposal authorities later this year.

Ms. Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, if he will list those United Kingdom companies producing special waste currently incinerated at sea.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

Information is not held centrally to enable producers of special wastes for marine incineration to be identified. The decision as to whether a waste is special under the Control of Pollution (Special Waste) Regulations 1980 is made by the waste producer. Notifications that result are held by the appropriate waste disposal authority.

Mr. Baldry

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the Government's response to the Environment Committee's report on toxic waste.

Mr. Ridley

I have today published the Government's response (Cm. 679). 1 am pleased that the Committee is in virtually complete agreement with the Government's proposals to improve the present system of waste management. These proposals have been put forward in a series of consultation papers over the last three years. Much progress has been made in this important but difficult area and legislation is now being prepared for introduction at the earliest opportunity.

I regret that the Committee has chosen to give little credit for this major reform covering the whole of waste legislation. Instead the Committee has chosen to make serious allegations about the waste management industry in this country which are not supported by the evidence presented in the body of the report. Indeed, the Committee records that it found little evidence of pollution from waste management processes in this country.

The Committee acknowledges that the United Kingdom is one of the few countries not to have developed its waste management policy in the wake of environmental disaster. But the Government believe that potential hazards should be anticipated and that the present legal framework can be strengthened to give the best possible protection for the future. The Committee has fully endorsed our proposals to extend legal responsibility to the producers of waste and to strengthen the existing law on licensing and the aftercare of landfills.

Neither are the Government confining their reforms to the present licensing system. We are also proposing to reform the waste disposal authorities themselves. In the only significant area of disagreement between the Government and the Committee, the Government do not propose to follow the recommendation to create new regional waste regulation authorities or an environmental protection agency. Instead, the Government propose to build on the strengths of the present system by separating waste regulation from authorities' own operations and providing clearer and more accountable procedures for new waste regulation authorities to operate by.

The Government firmly believe that waste management practices in the United Kingdom are environmentally safe and our record, in comparison to many other countries, fully supports that view. The improvements to be made in legislation and enforcement will be our continuing safeguard against pollution from wastes for many years to come.

Ms. Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has given to those companies currently using ocean incineration to develop alternative means of disposal as a means of ending toxic waste incineration at sea, in line with the recommendations of the North sea ministerial conference.

Mr. Donald Thompson

I have been asked to reply.

Officials of my Department have advised companies which currently hold licences for incineration of waste at sea of the need to seek alternative methods of disposal of their wastes. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution is discussing alternative land-based disposal routes with the companies concerned. We fully expect to meet the timetable agreed at the second international conference on the protection of the North sea for phasing out marine incineration.