§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many(a) carcases and (b) tonnes of meat and bonemeal of cattle slaughtered under the Over Thirty Months Scheme and the Selective Cull were disposed of in each quarter of 1997; and what is the present weekly rate of disposal; [34289]
1997 Disposal (by quarter) January to March April to June July to September October to December Incinerated (a) Number of carcases OTMS 17,658 18,983 17,216 21,793 SCS 4 187 289 733 (b) MBM (tonnes) OTMS 1,026 1,676 1,831 2,008 SCS 0 20 0 0 Rendered (a) Number of carcases OTMS 197,876 170,018 189,621 217,935 SCS 693 9,415 21,403 23,334 (b) MBM (tonnes) OTMS 0 0 0 0 SCS 0 0 0 0 390W
Present disposal (by week) Rendering Incineration Average weekly rates OTMS Carcases 13,300 12,400 OTMS MBM (tonnes) 0 350 SCS Carcases 750 70 Includes animals incinerated in new build incinerators which are currently licensed to burn carcase material but not offals. (2) how many (a) carcases and (b) tonnes of meat and bonemeal of cattle slaughtered under the Over Thirty Months Scheme and the Selective Cull are in storage now; and what was the figure on 1 May 1997; [34291]
(3) what methods have been used for the disposal of (a) carcases and (b) meat and bonemeal since 1 May 1997; [34290]
(4) what are the current weekly costs of storing (a) the carcases and (b) the meat and bonemeal of cattle slaughtered under the Over Thirty Months Scheme and the Selective Cull. [34292]
§ Mr. RookerThe animals purchased by the Intervention Board under the Over Thirty Months Scheme (OTMS) and the Selective Cull Scheme (SCS) are either being directly incinerated, or rendered into meat and bonemeal (MBM) and tallow which is being safely and securely stored pending destruction.
Some MBM is already being disposed of via high temperature waste incineration. Whilst the Board is negotiating with a number of companies for the large scale incineration of MBM with energy recovery, no decisions have yet been taken on any option or options. The goal remains to find a disposal solution which takes full account of the need to protect human and environmental health whilst at the same time keeping the cost to the taxpayer as low as is consistent with this. In the meantime the Board is pressing ahead with plans to increase the number of carcases which are directly incinerated, as indicated in my answer to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) on 19 December 1997, Official Report, columns 374–75.
The number of animals slaughtered and disposed of under the OTMS and SCS, and quantity of MBM from these schemes which was incinerated in 1997, together with the present rate of disposal, is as follows:
In order to help clear the backlog of OTMS animals awaiting slaughter following the scheme's introduction in 1996, carcases were held temporarily in cold store. At 1 May 1997, some 134,500 OTMS carcases were still in cold storage, but these had all been removed and rendered by the end of October 1997. No SCS carcases have been put into cold storage.
At the end of February 1998, stocks of MBM stood at 318,600 tonnes, of which 8,700 tonnes was from the 391W rendering of SCS animals. The cost of storing this material is £179,000 per week (of which £14,000 for the MBM from the SCS). The equivalent stock position as at 1 May 1997 was some 199,000 tonnes of MBM, of which 200 tonnes was from the SCS.