HL Deb 18 December 2001 vol 630 cc35-6WA
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer

asked the Chairman of Committees:

What proportion of waste from the Houses of Parliament is recycled, particularly:

  1. (a) paper;
  2. (b) bottles;
  3. (c) cans; and
  4. (d) compostable material. [HL1755]

The Chairman of Committees

The information which the noble Baroness seeks is not collected in exactly these terms. All waste from the Parliamentary Estate is either recycled or recovered. Some 50 per cent of the total is recycled, including all glass, oil, wood and scrap metal (including steel cans). Some 75 tonnes of waste paper were recycled in the last financial year, and, as part of an effort to increase this figure, collecting bins for recyclable waste paper will shortly be made available at all photocopying points. Other waste (including compostable material) is recovered. It is incinerated and the heat used to generate electricity. The ash residue left after incineration is used as building or road sub-base material.