§ Mr. TylerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action is being taken to encourage the production of peat-free horticultural substitutes from recycled organic waste.
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§ Mr. YeoThe Government have commissioned research into the potential markets for waste-based compost and are participating in the development of standards for it. This work is designed to address the main barriers to the use of waste-based compost.
My Department funds a number of projects to encourage composting, including projects run by Friends of the Earth; the Henry Doubleday Research Association; and Wyecycle. We have allocated £15 million in supplementary credit approvals to local authorities in 1993–94, to enable them to set up recycling schemes, including organic waste composting schemes.
The Department of Trade and Industry has given a grant of £409,000 to South West Water, under its DEMOS scheme, to explore the feasibility of co-composting sewage sludge and municipal solid waste.