§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to prohibit the importation of waste for use in energy-from-waste plants. [131663]
§ Mr. MullinExisting policies on imports of waste are set out in the legally binding United Kingdom Management Plan for Exports and Imports of Waste, which came into effect in June 1996.
608WThe UK Plan prohibits most waste imports for disposal, including imports of municipal waste for final disposal, in line with longstanding UK policies of encouraging developed countries to become as self-sufficient as possible in waste disposal. Consistent with the EC Waste Shipments Regulation (EEC) No. 259–93, though, the UK Plan cannot prohibit imports of wastes for recovery, which could include incineration with energy recovery. However, individual shipments of municipal wastes for recovery require the prior consent of the UK enforcement authorities. There may be grounds for objecting to proposed shipments if the primary purpose of the importing facility is to treat local wastes and those wastes will be displaced by the proposed imports.
Available data show that no imports of municipal waste have taken place since the UK Plan took effect.