HC Deb 05 June 1996 vol 278 cc478-9W
Mr. Jon Owen Jones

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the capacity of incinerators in the United Kingdom to dispose of culled cattle. [30412]

Mr. Boswell

[holding answer 21 May 1996)The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced in the House on 16 April that cull cows would be rendered and the resultant material disposed of by the best practical environmental option. At present there are 10 incinerators approved to burn suspect BSE cases, with an estimated capacity of 40,000 carcases per annum. Some of the limited spare capacity available in these incinerators is being used to be dispose of casualty over 30-month animals which are slaughtered on-farm.

Mr. Jones

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the alternatives his Department has assessed other than incineration, for the disposal of culled cattle, indicating the reasons for their rejection. [30413]

Mr. Boswell

[holding answer 21 May 1996]The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced in the House on 16 April,Official Report, columns 513–16, that cattle over 30 months would be rendered and the resultant material disposed of by the best practical environmental option. The Government have since been working intensively with the trade to examine means of disposal of the material derived from rendered carcases. A number of options for the eventual disposal of meat and bonemeal are under active consideration and in all cases full weight will be given to protection of the environment. These options include incineration, use as fuel in power generation and eventual landfill.