Waste Management (Hansard, 6 July 1993)

§ Mr. Pike
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) of 29 April,Official Report, column 470, on the waste management licensing timetable, what representations he has received about a new timetable.

§ Mr. Yeo
I have received a joint representation on behalf of the Institute of Wastes Management, the National Association of Waste Disposal Contractors, and the local authority associations concerned with waste regulation. I shall meet them on 15 July to discuss the matter. I have also had correspondence from a number of individual waste regulation authorities; and I have met representatives of UK Waste Management Ltd.

§ Mr. Pickthall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will reconsider proposed waste management licensing to avoid sites accepting very small quantities of hazardous waste and civic amenity sites having to pay higher rates.

§ Mr. Yeo
The charging scheme's financial objective is to ensure full recovery of waste regulation authorities' relevant costs on the inspection and monitoring of licensed sites. The Control of Pollution (Special Waste) Regulations 1980 define as "special" waste which is so dangerous or difficult to treat, keep or dispose of that special provision is required for dealing with it. The higher rates of subsistence charge proposed for sites authorised by their licence to accept special waste were intended to reflect the higher level of inspection and monitoring required of such sites. As such, they would be necessary to ensure fulfilment of the scheme's financial objective. In response to consultation on the charging scheme, we have received a number of representations about the treatment or keeping of certain special wastes destined for recovery, notably the contents of waste car batteries. We shall consider these representations before making the final scheme.

§ Mr. Pickthall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will implement the proposed new legislation for waste management licensing.

§ Mr. Yeo
As the then Minister for the Environment and Countryside announced on 29 April at column470, the introduction of waste management licensing has had to be postponed pending further consideration of the impact of European Community measures dealing with waste management. On 18 May at column 101, the then Minister gave further details of the particular technical problems we need to solve. We are working to solve these problems as quickly as possible. As soon as I am in a position to give a revised date for the implementation of licensing, I shall do so.