§ Mr. BurdenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to delay the implementation of waste management licensing of the metal recycling industry pending the agreement of a common European definition of waste; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. SykesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the European Commission to issue a common European definition of waste.
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§ Mr. Atkins[holding answer 12 April 1994]: A common European definition of waste has been agreed and is contained in article 1 of directive 91/156/EEC which was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 18 March 1991. I announced on 13 April, Official Report, column 176, that the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 had been laid before Parliament and will come into force on 1 May 1994. Implementation of the waste management licensing provisions of part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 will also commence on 1 May 1994. However, the application of these provisions to activities involving scrap metal will not commence until 1 October 1994. This will allow the scrap metal industry further time to consider the implications of the new system and to make any representations. The scrap metal industry will remain subject to the licensing provisions of part I of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 until 1 October 1994.
The 1994 regulations transpose into national legislation the definition of waste in article 1 of directive 91/156/EEC. The new definition will come into force on 1 May 1994 for the purposes of both part II of the 1990 Act and the extant provisions of part I of the 1974 Act.