§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which local authorities will receive supplementary credit approval resources for recycling projects in 1996–97; and if he will make a statement. [29727]
§ Mr. ClappisonI am today announcing the allocation of over £10 million in supplementary credit approval resources for investment in recycling projects by local authorities in 1996–97. This is the sixth year of the programme and the allocations announced today bring the total number of recycling projects supported by the programme to over 1,300.
The programme forms part of the Government's environmental partnership initiative, which aims to maximise investment through a combination of Government resources, authorities' own resources and private sector contributions. This year we received bids totalling almost £40 million. We have given priority in allocating resources to large-scale projects of strategic significance, aimed at delivering the objectives set out in our White Paper, "Making Waste Work: a strategy for sustainable waste management in England and Wales". If recycling infrastructure is to expand and recycling increase, all those involved in dealing with waste, including Government, local authorities and the private and voluntary sectors, need to work together. Partnership and co-operation are at the heart of our strategy for more sustainable waste management.
Authorities working in co-operation with the private and voluntary sectors have therefore done particularly well in the allocations. The programme also provides the opportunity for authorities to work with the private sector to respond to our producer responsibility challenge for packaging. A number of bids are the result of partnerships between industry and local authorities and are aimed at recycling packaging. A variety of schemes have been successful, including a new materials reclamation facility 489W at Peterborough, a municipal composting facility to be run jointly by Sandwell and Dudley metropolitan borough councils and a kerbside collection scheme in Amber valley.
One of the features of the SCA programme has been to provide assistance to projects which although environmentally beneficial may not attract support from the private sector. Home composting is a good example of this. We see composting as an important way in which the environmental impact of household waste can be reduced, as well as providing a valuable alternative to peat-based products.
In our waste strategy, "Making Waste Work", we have set a target of 40 per cent. of domestic properties with a garden to carry out home composting by the year 2000. I am therefore pleased that so many authorities are enabling householders to taking increased responsibility for their own waste, by establishing home composting schemes, and I am happy to announce support for home composting which totals £1.1 million.
Each authority is today being notified of the outcome of its bid. Lists of the allocations have been placed in the Library.