§ Mr. DawsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made on the examination of options for the disposal of waste arising from the over thirty months scheme; and if he will make a statement. [49716]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 10 July 1998]: Good progress has been made on this issue. The Intervention Board invited eight companies with a track record in combustion or in the handling of meat and bone meal (MBM) to submit proposals under the negotiated procedures of the EU Services Directive for the incineration of waste MBM from Over Thirty Months Scheme (OTMS) animals. Seven costed proposals were received and these have been evaluated by a Project Board, against criteria of energy recovery, appropriate technology, early deliverability, high volumes and reasonable costs.
Negotiations continue with a view to the early award of contracts to the suppliers best able to meet the Board's requirements. Owing to the commercial sensitivity of these negotiations, it would be inappropriate to identify the companies at this stage but their names will be announced when contracts are signed. Burning under contract is subject to the companies obtaining the necessary planning and environmental consents from the relevant authorities in accordance with normal procedures.
These developments reflect the Government's determination to find solutions which will lead to the destruction of the waste MBM stocks, which currently stand at 330,000 tonnes, while taking full account of the need to protect human health and the environment and at the same time keeping the cost to the taxpayer as low as is consistent with this. An announcement on plans to destroy the OTMS tallow stocks, currently standing at 174,000 tonnes, will be made in the autumn.