§ Mr. HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of(a) refrigerators and (b) deep-freezers local authorities will have to store in the years (i) 2001–02 and (ii) 2002–03, before they can be recycled. [12034]
§ Mr. MeacherIt has been estimated that up to 3 million domestic refrigeration units are disposed of in the UK each year. The number that will require storage prior to recycling depends on the construction of suitable facilities for the recovery of ozone depleting substances. Some of these could be operational as early as spring 2002. The Department estimates that up to 750,000 units will need to be stored in 2001–02. Many of these will be stored by, or on behalf of, local authorities. It is more difficult to estimate storage requirements for 2002–03, although the requirement for storage will decrease as recovery and recycling facilities become operational. It is estimated that of the 750,000 units stored, 540,000 would be fridges, 120,000 fridge-freezers and 90,000 freezers.