HC Deb 31 January 1994 vol 236 c481W
Mr. William O'Brien

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what further initiatives he intends to introduce to increase the recycling of waste; and if he will make a statement;

(2) what recycling initiatives he has introduced to reduce waste to landfill.

Mr. Atkins

[holding answer 28 January 1994]: Full details of the Government's recycling initiatives are given in the annual reports on the White Paper "This Common Inheritance"; copies are in the Library. Initiatives involving my Department in the past year include: the development of producer responsibility schemes under which industries contributing to major waste streams have been asked to develop plans for the recovery of significantly higher levels of their waste; the allocation of some £15 million in supplementary credit approvals to encourage the development of recycling initiatives by local authorities; and changing the basis of payment for recycling credits from 50 per cent. of the long-run marginal cost of disposal to 100 per cent. with effect from 1 April 1994. We keep our recycling policies under review and will introduce further initiatives where appropriate.

Mr. William O'Brien

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the results of his industry waste recovery plan.

Mr. Atkins

[holding answer 28 January 1994]: Under our producer responsibility initiative we are asking industry to take responsibility for ensuring that a significantly higher proportion of the wastes it produces is recovered for beneficial uses. In July 1993 we challenged the packaging industry to devise a plan to secure the recovery of between 50 per cent. and 75 per cent. of all packaging waste by the year 2000, compared with 34 per cent. currently being achieved; we also asked it to take immediate steps to safeguard the United Kingdom recycling infrastructure for waste paper and board and plastics. In November, the producer responsibility group presented an interim report which committed the industry to providing support for these sectors until its full plan is implemented. PRG submitted a draft of its full plan for official consideration before Christmas. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment expects to receive a final version of the plan shortly.

The producer responsibility concept embraces industries responsible for a wide range of waste streams. In addition to the packaging industry, the Government have asked the newspaper, tyre, battery, electronic equipment and motor vehicle industries to devise plans.