§ Mr. JanmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his Department's criteria for recycling and recovery; and what is being done to encourage each, in light of forthcoming obligations outlined in the EC directive on waste management.
§ Mr. BaldryThe Government's criteria for recycling and recovery are that they should take place where it makes environmental and economic sense to do so. Our policy and actions on these matters are set out in chapter 14 of the White Paper "This Common Inheritance"—CM 1200.
§ Mr. JanmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provisions are required in contracts entered into by waste collection authorities and recyclers in respect of retention by a county council or waste disposal authority offering recycling facilities for the same materials.
§ Mr. BaldryNone. Section 14(2) of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 allows waste collection and disposal authorities to agree the extent to which the former may retain waste for re-use or reclamation. Section 48(2) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 will replace that provision with a permission for any waste collection authority to retain waste for the purpose of recycling unless the waste disposal authority has made arrangements with a contractor for recycling that waste and has served notice on the collection authority accordingly. Waste disposal authorities do not acquire more than a small proportion of household or commercial waste direct from the producers of the waste; most is handled first by the waste collection authority or a private waste collection company.