§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what position he took regarding the possible amendment of the Basel convention to ban waste exports to non-OECD countries, discussed at the EC Council of Ministers on 23 and 24 March;
(2) what investigations his Department has undertaken to ascertain what environmental damage will occur as a result of the export of toxic waste from Humberside;
(3) what action he will take to ensure the toxic waste currently stored at the Capper Pass site in Humberside will not be exported to Mexico or Bolivia;
(4) what investigations his Department has undertaken to ascertain the toxicity of the toxic waste due to be exported from Capper Pass, Humberside;
(5) what steps he will take to ensure that companies exporting waste complete the required documentation for the export of non-ferrous materials under the EC directive on the transfrontier shipment of hazardous wastes.
§ Mr. MacleanI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on 25 March,Official Report, column 710.
Under existing regulations the United Kingdom has no powers to ban exports of non-ferrous metal waste. However, consignments must meet certain conditions; for example, the holder must have entered into a contract with the consignee for the recovery of the non-ferrous metal content and made a declaration to this effect on the uniform document which is copied to the Waste Regulation Authority. Compliance with these conditions is a matter for the Waste Regulation Authority. We have ensured that Mexico is aware of its obligations under the Basel convention.