§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the applicability of the German household waste management system to the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. YeoThe approach taken in Germany to household waste management, as epitomised by the recent German packaging ordinance, has resulted in the collection of large quantities of recyclable material, without a corresponding increase in domestic processing capacity or market demand. The resulting imbalance between supply and demand has depressed prices for recyclable material across Europe. This approach proved very costly to German consumers and industry and has put at risk the recycling infrastructure in other EC member states.
The lessons which we have learned are the importance of setting realistic targets for the recycling and recovery of waste; of gearing those targets to the development of processing capacity and markets; of involving local authorities in the collection rather than insisting on separate waste collection systems; and of giving energy recovery from waste a role where recycling is not practicable or environmentally beneficial.
We believe that industry is in the best position to devise the most efficient and cost-effective means of achieving high recovery levels. That is why, in our producer responsibility initiative, we have challenged the packaging industry to devise a plan by Christmas to secure recovery of between 50 per cent. and 75 per cent. of all packaging waste by the end of the decade.