HC Deb 19 May 1993 vol 225 cc173-5W
Mr. Cash

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to establishing new planning guidelines for waste-to-energy incineration plants to give due weight to their environmental and economic value.

Mr. Maclean

In the White Paper "This Common Inheritance" the Government clearly stated that it would "promote the recycling of as much waste as possible, including the recovery of materials and energy".

The environmental and economic implications of energy from waste, through incineration and other methods, are considered in waste management paper 1 "A Review of Options" and waste management paper 28 "Recycling". Guidance on the development control implications of various waste disposal options, including energy from waste incineration, will also be provided through a new planning policy guidance note on "Planning and Pollution Control" which is due for publication soon.

Mr. Cash

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to the likely impact on United Kingdom waste disposal activity of reductions in existing incineration capacity, due to new EC emissions standards, after 1996.

Mr. Maclean

The Department has been in close contact with local authorities which operate municipal waste incinerators about the action needed to meet the requirements of directive 89/429/EEC. Some incinerators will have to close because it will not be cost-effective for them to be upgraded in order to achieve the necessary standards, others are to be upgraded and new plants are to be built. The directive itself is not thought likely to have a significant effect on the proportion of waste disposed of by incineration.

Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from waste regulation authorities as a result of his recent announcement of an indefinite postponement in the introduction of a waste management licensing system.

Mr. Maclean

I have received a joint representation on behalf of the Institute of Wastes Management, the National Association of Waste Disposal Contractors and certain bodies representative of waste regulators. I understand that the local authority associations concerned also wish to be associated with that. I hope to meet them soon. Officials have already commenced discussions on the matter with representatives of the local authority associations. As I said in my answer to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) of 29 April,Official Report, column 470, I shall give a revised date for waste management licensing as soon as I am in a position to do so.

Mr. Gareth Wardell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations have been made to his Department on the proposals for a possible landfill levy; and what assessment he has made of its effect on the environmental standards at waste management facilities.

Mr. Maclean

[holding answer 17 May 1993]: The organisations listed below have commented on the report by consultants Coopers and Lybrand for my Department on "Landfill Costs and Prices: Correcting Possible Market Distortions", published in February 1993. We are still considering the report and responses to it.

The new waste management licensing system which we are introducing under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 will ensure that high environmental standards are maintained at waste management facilities.

The organisations who responded to the report are:

  • Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment
  • Aluminium Federation Ltd.
  • Associated Energy Products plc
  • Biffa Waste Services Ltd.
  • Black Country Development Corporation
  • British Paper and Board Industry Federation
  • British Plastics Federation
  • Building Employers Confederation
  • CAIRD Environment Ltd.
  • Cambridge City Council
  • Cardiff City Council
  • Combined Heat and Power Association
  • Community Recycling
  • Confederation of British Industry
  • Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
  • Cory Environmental Ltd.
  • Council of Welsh Districts
  • County Planning Officers' Society
  • Cumbria County Council
  • Erewash Borough Council
  • Food and Drink Federation
  • Friends of the Earth
  • Gillingham Borough Council
  • Hales Waste Control
  • Haul—Waste Ltd.
  • ICI
  • Incpen
  • Institute of Wastes Management
  • Leigh Environmental Ltd.
  • London Borough of Croydon
  • London Waste Regulation Authority
  • McKenna and Co.
  • National Association of Waste Disposal Contractors
  • National Association of Waste Disposal Officers
  • National Association of Waste Regulation Officers
  • Newspaper Society
  • North Wales Waste Management Group
  • Nottingham City Council
  • Organic Reclamation and Composting Association
  • Resource International Ltd.
  • Rhone—Poulenc Limited
  • Richards Engineering Ltd.
  • Sand and Gravel Association Ltd
  • Shanks and McEwan Group plc
    • 175
  • South East London Combined Heat and Power
  • Terry Adams Ltd.
  • Tioxide Europe
  • Waste Management International
  • Waste Management International
  • Waste Watch
  • Yorwaste Ltd.