Waste Incinerators (Hansard, 19 January 1995)

§ Mr. MacShane
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will remove the disparity of environmental standards imposing on clinical waste662W incinerators of differing sizes via his guidance notes PG5/1 and regulations IPR5/2.

§ Sir Paul Beresford
The different standards were set because of the different size and pollution potential of the incinerators coming under these two guidance notes. PG5/1 is currently under review and consideration is being given to raising the standards having regard to those in IPR5/2 concerning air pollution control. Most, if not all, clinical waste incinerators are likely to be subject to the EC hazardous waste incineration directive which was adopted last month.

§ Mr. MacShane
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue directives enforcing agencies to ensure that the deadline of 1 October set out in his guidance notes PG5/1 relating to clinical waste incinerators is enforced in a rigorous and timely manner.

§ Sir Paul Beresford
Local authorities are required by section 7(11) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to have regard to the guidance issued by the Secretary of State, which specifies a compliance deadline of 1 October 1995. There is no reason to believe that this guidance will not be followed. Failure to comply with an authorisation condition which requires higher air pollution standards after this date would be an offence and would render an incinerator operator liable to fines of up to £20,000 on summary conviction, and an unlimited fine and up to two years' imprisonment on conviction on indictment.

§ Mr. Denham
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has given to local authorities on the role to be played by domestic waste incineration in waste disposal strategies.

§ Mr. Atkins
The Department is currently preparing a waste strategy for England and Wales. This will aim to provide a coherent framework for waste management policies throughout the country and will consider the use of domestic waste incineration and the role of local authorities in waste management. We are aiming to issue a draft for consultation later this month and to publish the final version of the strategy in the summer.