§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's policy on the purchase and use of(a) recycled paper, (b) low-energy light bulbs, (c) tropical hardwoods, (d) peat and (e) cars with catalytic converters.
§ Mr. YeoMy Department's policy is set out in our Policy Statement on Green Housekeeping, published in March 1993. Specifically, our policy is: to extend the amount of recycled paper bought from the present 40 per cent. to the current practicable limit of 70–75 per cent. as soon as possible; to reduce energy consumption by 15 per cent. over the five years to 1995–96 by, among other things, installing energy efficient lighting wherever it is practicable to do so; to encourage sustainable forestry practices by purchasing office furnishings which, as far as possible, do not contain hardwoods from virgin areas; to minimise the use of slow renewables such as peat by using soil improvers derived from the processing or reuse of organic wastes such as coir, manure, leaf mould and bark chippings; to fit all official vehicles with catalytic converters by May 1994.