HC Deb 16 March 1993 vol 221 cc158-63W
Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contribution has been made by British experts to the waste management policy group of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Mr. Maclean

Officials from my Department attend all meetings of the group to reflect United Kingdom experience and interests. The head of my Department's waste technical division chaired the group's advisory committee which prepared the 1992 OECD council decision on the control of transfrontier movements of wastes destined for recovery operations.

Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what initiatives his Department supports in local authorities to support the separation and recycling of household wastes.

Mr. Maclean

My Department supports local authority initiatives for separating and recycling waste through supplementary credit approvals for recycling. The following authorities have been allocated supplementary credit approvals for 1992–93:

Authority Amount £'000
London Boroughs
Camden 10.015
Croydon 180.000
Ealing 185.000
Enfield 76.000
Greenwich 136.910
Hackney 38.538
Hammersmith and Fulham 38.785
Haringey 18.000
Hounslow 81.000
Kingston upon Thames 13.000
Lambeth 20.000
Merton 50.000
North London Waste Authority 600.000
Richmond upon Thames 40.000
Southwark 78.000
Sutton 183.000
Waltham Forest 10.000
Metropolitan Authorities
Barnsley 65.000
Bolton 25.000
Calderdale 20.500
Doncaster 67.000
Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority 133.000
Kirklees 14.000
Leeds 2,662.000
Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority 24.000
Newcastle upon Tyne 160.000
North Tyneside 10.000
Salford 12.000
South Tyneside 24.000
Sunderland 10.000
Wakefield 88.950
Walsall 95.000
West Yorkshire Waste Management joint committee 950.950
Wolverhampton 196.100
County Councils
Cambridgeshire 181.000
Cheshire 225.000
Cornwall 254.000
Devon 251.000
Gloucestershire 95.000
Hampshire 630.000
Hereford and Worcester 55.000
Humberside 40.000

Authority Amount £'000
Leicestershire 285.000
Norfolk 80.000
North Yorkshire 79.000
Somerset 54.000
Staffordshire 6.000
Suffolk 15.000
District Councils
Adur 355.000
Allerdale 30.000
Alnwick 3.000
Bassetlaw 7.000
Bath 53.120
Blaby 20.000
Bolsover 30.000
Braintree 15.000
Brighton 76.000
Bristol 185.000
Broxborne 40.000
Burnley 40.000
Carlisle 19.000
Castle Morpeth 60.000
Castle Point 12.000
Chelmsford 12.000
Cherwell 6.000
Chesterfield 7.000
Copeland 35.000
Cotswold 90.000
Darlington 12.000
Derby 54.000
East Hampshire 70.000
East Yorkshire 10.000
Ellesmere Port and Neston 5.000
Exeter 15.000
Gedling 31.000
Guildford 75.000
Harborough 6.000
Harrogate 22.000
Hartlepool 246.308
Hastings 57.000
Hinckley and Bosworth 45.000
Isles of Scilly 42.000
Leicester 65.000
Lewes 140.000
Luton 56.000
Melton 30.200
Mid Devon 4.000
Mid Suffolk 24.000
Milton Keynes 2,000.000
Newark and Sherwood 32.050
Northavon 55.000
North Dorset 4.000
North Hertfordshire 6.000
Norwich 199.000
Nottingham 150.000
Nuneaton and Bedworth 8.000
Oxford 110.000
Plymouth 45.000
Reading 43.000
Restormel 58.000
Rother 35.000
Rushmoor 16.000
Ryedale 76.000
St. Albans 158.000
Scarborough 88.000
Scunthorpe 79.000
South Derbyshire 37.000
South Holland 20.150
South Somerset 176.000
Test Valley 263.000
Tewkesbury 18.000
Thurrock 14.000
Tonbridge and Malling 95.000
Wansdyke 23.000
Waverley 15.000
Wealden 220.000
West Dorset 48.000

Authority Amount £'000
West Wiltshire 9.900
Woking 107.000
Wokingham 17.000
Wrekin, The 94.000
Wycombe 5.000
Total 14,994.926

Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what evaluation he has made of the application to the United Kingdom of the recent report on management of plastic wastes in Europe by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Mr. Maclean

We have examined the report, which will be a useful contribution to the current debate on recycling.

Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what volumes of hazardous or toxic wastes have been imported into the United Kingdom since 5 May 1992; what ports of entry were involved; and what checks are made on consignments of imported wastes to ascertain if consignment papers match cargoes.

Mr. Maclean

Imports of hazardous or toxic wastes to the United Kingdom from 5 May 1992 until 12 March 1993, by last Customs office of entry, are as follows:

Port of entry Waste (tonnes)
Boston 149.0
Dover 7,109.7
Felixstowe 3,070.1
Fleetwood 98.7
Great Yarmouth 125.6
Grimsby 64.3
Harwich 1,511.5
Heysham 940.3
Holyhead 328.4
Immingham 7,880.4
Ipswich 466.3
Kingston upon Hull 2,350.5
Liverpool 782.5
Newport (Gwent) 977.5
Newry 31.7
Purfleet 56.6
Ramsgate 2,896.8
Southampton 1,199.4
Teesport 0.7
TOTAL 30,040.0

A transfrontier shipment note giving details of the nature, amount and destination of a consignment of toxic or hazardous waste must be sent to the relevant waste regulation authority before the wast shipment can take place and must travel with the consignment. The waste regulation authority is responsible for ensuring that the contents of consignments match the descriptions given in transfrontier shipment notes.

Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what volumes of(a) lindane, (b) chlorobenzenes, (c) chlorophenols, (d) chlorinated methoxy benzene and (e) other dioxin-contaminated wastes have been imported into the United Kingdom since 1 January; what import licences have been issued over the past 15 months for such imports; and if he will make a statement on council decision 93/98/EEC on transfrontier transport of hazardous wastes and their disposal of 1 February, in so far as it applies to the United Kingdom.

Mr. Maclean

Imports are not recorded in the exact manner indicated by the hon. Member. The tables show the amount of waste imported(a) from 1 January 1992 to 12 March 1993 and (b) from 1 January 1993 to 12 March 1993.

Under decision 93/98/EEC of 1 February 1993, the Council approved the procedure for the conclusion, on behalf of the Community, of the Basel convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal. The Council on 23 March will consider the date of deposit of the instrument of approval by the Community.

Transfrontier shipments Summary totals report between 1 January 1992 and 12 March 1993
Wastes Totals (tonnes)
Total Absorption Effluents 20.6
Total Acetate 26.4
Total Acetone 15.8
Total Acids Tars 0.2
Total Aerosol 416.8
Total Alkalies 17.5
Total Alkyl Amine Salt 0.7
Total Mixed 1,724.2
Total Ashes and Slags 23.3
Total AZO Dyes 3.2
Total Blomate 9.8
Total Tropical Bleaching Powder 168.1
Total BTH Residue 83.5
Total Carbon/Charcoal Waste 4.0
Total Electrical Transformer 27.5
Total Catalyst Cr, Cu, Zn, Solids 99.6
Total Celite Waste 202.1
Total Chemicals 505.6
Total Chlorinated Compounds 22.2
Total Chlorinated Solvents 4,473.7
Total Clean Out 17.8
Total Contaminated Solvents 198.0
Total Cosmetics 3.4
Total Cyanide Waste 65.8
Total Fire Damaged TVs 45.1
Total DDT Dusting Powder 15.2
Total Dichlorodiphenytrichloroe 1.5
Total Dielectric Fluid 12.6
Total Diethylhexylpthalate 4.5
Total Distillation Residue 69.4
Total Drums Filter Aids 75.4
Total Dry Cleaning Processes 18.6
Total Durotak 280–2630 63.9
Total Grinding Dust from Brake 961.9
Total Effluent Treatment Waste 37.3
Total Electric Capacitors 82.7
Total Empty Containers 23.9
Total Facron "S" Liquid Formulae 37.1
Total Fatty Acid 6.2
Total Filtercake Mixed Metals 969.9
Total Filtration Products 6,490.9
Total Flammable Solvents 77.3
Total Fluegas/Furnace Soot/Dust 22.5
Total Fly-ashes/Slags 10,663.9
Total Freon TDFC 2.5
Total Furnace Dust 90.2
Total Glycolmethacrylate Scrap 2.4
Total Haloginated Compounds 42.5
Total Halogenated Sludge 296.9
Total Hexachlorobenzene 306.8
Total Herbicides 20.7
Total Hexachlorobutadene 252.2
Total Hospital Waste 628.3
Total Ink Solution 2.0
Total Inorganic Acids 17.0
Total Inorganic Waste 20.6

Wastes Totals (tonnes)
Total Isocianate + Urea 17.0
Total Isolation Material 42.3
Total Laboratory Chemicals 84.9
Total Luminiscent Tubes 14.6
Total Metal Hydroxide/Oxides 147.2
Total Methanol 2.2
Total Methyl Methacrylate 4.0
Total Miscellaneous Waste 39.8
Total Miscellaneous Chemical Waste 196.8
Total Chlorinated Solvent Mix 195.3
Total Mother Layer (RD 41400) 265.2
Total Nickel Baths Sludge 3.0
Total Nitrobenzotrifluoride 10.8
Total Oil Sludge/Wax/Grease 6.3
Total Organic Acids 17.0
Total Organic Waste Mix 405.8
Total Paint Waste 260.1
Total Paracetamol Waste 3.4
Total Paranitrochlorobenzene 18.0
Total Polychlorinated Biphenyl 4,022.2
Total PCB Contaminated Material 6.0
Total PCB Fluid/Transformer 16.1
Total Pesticides 1,430.9
Total Pharmaceutical Waste 101.3
Total Styrenated Phenol 1.4
Total Phosphate Salt 16.8
Total Polyester Waste 0.8
Total Polymer Paste (PVC) 1.9
Total Polypropylene Waste 278.5
Total Polysterene Waste 14.3
Total Potassium Contaminated 20.0
Total Printing Waste 3.8
Total Purification Residues 38.1
Total Misce[...]aneous Redundant 362.5
Total Pesticide Residues 1,902.6
Total Resin Waste 13.7
Total Sewage Sludge 8.4
Total Silicon Polymere 16.6
Total Sludge Waste 465.2
Total Solid Material 43.8
Total Solvent—Cleaning 1.1
Total Solvent Sludges 386.6
Total Sulphuric Acid 1,051.1
Total Factory Sweeping Waste 343.4
Total Tar Residue/Liquid 218.7
Total Toxic Metals Contaminated 44.0
Total Transformer Carcass 31.4
Total Treatment 396.6
Total Trichloroethane Residue 2.5
Total Ureas 1.1
Total Used Paints and Emulsion 59.6
Total Varnish Waste 170.0
Total Waste Water 2,506.4
Total Yarn Waste 208.5
Total Zinc Salts/Waste 21.9
GRAND TOTAL 45,435.0

Transfrontier shipments Summary totals report between 1 January 1993 and 12 March 1993
Wastes Totals (tonnes)
Total Aerosol 119.8
Total Mixed 305.4
Total Tropical Bleaching Powder 149.0
Total Celite Waste 22.9
Total Chlorinated Solvents 9.6
Total Clean Out 4.5
Total Contaminated Solvents 10.4
Total DDT Dusting Powder 0.2
Total Dielectric Fluid 7.2
Total Filtration Products 115.7
Total Haloginated Compounds 42.5
Total Halogenated Sludge 37.7

Wastes Totals (tonnes)
Total Inorganic Waste 7.4
Total Isocianate + Urea 17.0
Total Laboratory Chemicals 10.2
Total Luminiscent Tubes 14.6
Total Miscellaneous Chemical Waste 11.4
Total Oil Sludge/Wax/Grease 1.1
Total Organic Waste Mix 72.6
Total Paint Waste 49.2
Total Polychlorinated Biphenyl 139.9
Total PCB Contaminated Material 6.0
Total PCB Fluid/Transformer 1.0
Total Pesticides 119.8
Total Pharmaceutical Waste 18.2
Total Polypropylene Waste 278.5
Total Miscellaneous Redundant 64.5
Total Pesticide Residues 301.5
Total Solvent—Cleaning 1.1
Total Solvent Sludges 3.2
Total Sulphuric Acid 40.0
Total Factory Sweeping Waste 22.2
Total Tar Residue/Liquid 58.8
Total Transformer Carcass 22.4
Total Treatment 73.6
Total Varnish Waste 41.3
Total Waste Water 118.9
GRAND TOTAL 2,319.2

Mr. Nicholas Winterton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what progress has been made by the European Commission and the EC technical adaptation committee in drawing up a list of wastes under the framework directive on waste, and a list of hazardous wastes under the hazardous waste directive;

(2) what consultation he has had with industry prior to producing the draft list of those wastes which would be considered hazardous in the context of the hazardous waste directive and associated measures;

(3) upon what scientific basis he has concluded that the recycling of paper sludge to agricultural land should be regarded as hazardous;

(4) what assessment he has made of the additional costs to United Kingdom industry if it were prevented from recycling paper sludge on agricultural sites and obliged instead to use formal landfill sites.

Mr. Maclean

The draft lists, known as the European waste catalogue, are being drawn up by the Commission's consultants for consideration by the technical adaptation committee. The catalogue is still at a formative stage and no decisions have yet been taken.

Successive drafts of the catalogue have been widely circulated for comment to a growing list of representative bodies, beginning in October last year.

In the light of responses to consultation, the Government are considering the draft catalogue, its potential cost implications, and the implications for the special waste regulations. Paper sludge is shown as non-hazardous in the draft. Other wastes from the paper manufacturing industry are shown as hazardous. Whether this would represent a change from the position under the existing special waste regulations will depend upon the precise composition of the waste concerned.