§ Mr. SpellerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to encourage the separation of household waste and the delivery of this to recycling centres.
§ Mr. BaldryMy Department, together with the Department of Trade and Industry, is pursuing a range of policies designed to meet the Government's target of recycling 25 per cent. of household waste by the year 2000. Our latest progress report is in chapter 11 of "This Common Inheritance: The First Year Report" (September 1991, Cm. 1655).
Our policies include assistance to pilot recycling schemes, including those in Britain's recycling county, Devon. £40 million in supplementary credit approvals will be available over the next three years to enable local authorities to invest in recycling. £12 million has already been distributed for 1991–92.
We are monitoring pilot schemes to provide information on the most effective ways of recycling in different parts of the country. The results of that monitoring will inform further decisions on recycling, at local and national government level.