§ Mr. McFallTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make a statement on Government policy regarding the importation of recyclable waste material from packaging from European sources;
(2) what representations he has received regarding the dumping of recyclable waste from packaging;
(3) what consideration the Government have given to reducing the levels of imported recyclable waste from Germany;
(4) what representations he has received in respect of the impact of German packaging legislation and the Duales Systems Deutschland on European and United Kingdom markets for recyclable materials.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Government believe that the movement of waste for recovery, which provides valuable substitutes for raw materials, should continue, subject to the appropriate environmental controls.
However, my Department and the Department of Trade and Industry have received a considerable number of representations from British companies and others about restrictions on trade and the distortion of competition resulting from the 1991 German Packaging Ordinance. Many representations relate to the distortion of competition in the markets for recyclable materials. The Government share the concerns expressed in these representations. We have therefore formally asked the European Commission to consider whether the German measures contravene the provisions of the treaty of Rome on trade and competition; and will continue to press for an early decision by the Commission.
The Government are also negotiating for a harmonising European directive on packaging and packaging waste, to prevent member states from erecting trade barriers or distorting competition.
§ Mr. McFallTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is Government policy regarding the use of United Kingdom landfill sites for the dumping of European waste.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Government's policy is that developed countries should be self-sufficient and dispose of their own waste. The new EC Waste Shipments Regulation which was agreed on 20 October will enable member states to ban imports for final disposal from other member states unless they produce hazardous waste in such a small quantity that it would be uneconomic for that country to provide their own specialised disposal facilities.
§ Mr. McFallTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the Government propose to adopt the Duales Systems Deutschland in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. MacleanWe have no current plans to do so. However, the Government is currently considering whether the economic framework for recycling and waste in the United Kingdom should be modified. We intend to publish a consultants' report on economic instruments for solid waste shortly and aim to announce our conclusions later in 1993.