HC Deb 05 November 1992 vol 213 cc362-3W
Mr. Dafis

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many shipments of clinical waste have been imported for incineration within the United Kingdom in each of the past five years; and if he will specify the tonnage imported in each instance.

Mr. Maclean

My Department has no record of clinical waste being imported before 1 January 1992. Since then, 463 tonnes in 71 separate shipments have been notified to the Department under the Transfrontier Shipment of Hazardous Wastes Regulations 1988 as having been imported for incineration in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Dafis

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to prohibit the incineration of wastes containing heavy metals, organochlorines and other organic halogens.

Mr. Maclean

Waste incineration processes are tightly controlled under part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Since 30 September 1992, operators of all existing waste incinerators have had to apply under the Act to either Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution or their local authority, depending on the size of the plant or the sort of waste being incinerated, to obtain authorisation to undertake the process. Any authorisations given will include conditions covering such matters as combustion conditions and release limits to ensure the protection of public health and the environment. These conditions must be designed so as to ensure the use of the best available techniques not entailing excessive cost—BATNEEC—to prevent or minimise releases of prescribed substances from the plant, and to render all unpreventable releases harmless. I, therefore, see no grounds for a general prohibition on the incineration of wastes containing heavy metals, organochlorines and other organic halogens.

Mr. Dafis

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to undertake a full assessment of problematic waste streams going into incineration.

Mr. Maclean

There is already a considerable amount of research into the incineration of various types of waste. The objective is to determine the conditions required to minimise the release of pollutants, and to render harmless any unpreventable releases.