HC Deb 12 January 2000 vol 342 cc163-4W
Mr. Bennett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many beacon councils have reached the Government's target of 25 per cent. recycling; and if he will list(a) the level achieved by each Beacon Council for waste management and (b) the councils not awarded beacon status which have achieved a higher level. [104290]

Mr. Meacher

There is no recycling target which each individual local authority is expected to meet. There is a national goal to recycle or compost 25 per cent. of household waste by 2005 or earlier.

From the data supplied for the 1997–98 Municipal Waste Survey, three authorities chosen as Beacon Councils in the "Sustainable Development: Dealing with Waste" category have recycling rates of 25 per cent. or over:

  • Gosport Borough Council
  • Havant Borough Council
  • New Forest District Council.
Other non beacon authorities which are achieving 25 per cent. or more, are:
  • Adur District Council
  • Chichester District Council
  • Chiltern District Council
  • Christchurch Borough Council
  • East Dorset District Council
  • Eastleigh Borough Council
  • North Dorset District Council
  • Purbeck District Council
  • Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
  • South Bucks District Council
  • Tandridge District Council
  • Weymouth and Portland Borough Council

The remaining Beacon Councils are achieving the following recycling rates:

Percentage Councils
Between 20 and 25 Rushmoor District Council
St. Edmondsbury Borough Council
Test Valley District Council
Between 15 and 20 East Hampshire District Council
Fareham District Council
Winchester City Council
Between 10 and 15 Basingstoke District Council
Bath and North East Somerset Council
Hart District Council
London Borough of Bexley
Portsmouth City Council
Less than 10 London Borough of Hounslow
Southampton City Council
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Wealden District Council

Notes:

1. Recycling rates are calculated as the quantity of household waste collected for recycling, expressed as a percentage of total household waste. These calculations exclude recycling of building rubble, and make no allowance for home composting.

2. In non-unitary areas, the figures cover amounts collected within the area by both the Waste Collection Authority and the Waste Disposal Authority. In most cases, figures for total household waste (apart from amounts collected for recycling) are taken from returns from Waste Disposal Authorities.