§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incinerators have been built in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [8087]
§ Mr. MeacherThere are many hundreds of incinerators for sewage sludge, hazardous waste, clinical waste, production waste from factories, etc. Generally, the larger plant are regulated by the Environment Agency and details of their locations are available on the Environment Agency's public register. Other plant that are part of another process regulated by the Agency may not be shown separately on the register. Smaller plant are regulated by local authorities.
The Environment Agency reports that there are 11 municipal waste incinerators currently operational in England. Some of these are newly built and some were refurbished to meet new emission standards introduced in 1996. The Environment Agency does not keep records of when plant are built but it is believed that in the last five years the numbers of incinerators starting or restarting (following refurbishment) are:
- 1996—3
- 1997—2
- 1998—2
- 1999—0
- 2000—1
- 2001—1.