§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice her Department is giving to local authorities about signing long-term contracts for waste disposal services during the period when her Department is reviewing its waste strategy; and if the advice warns against signing contracts which could prevent meeting(a) future recycling targets being developed as part of the Government's waste strategy review and (b) future targets being discussed in the European Union as part of the revision of the Packaging Directive. [63818]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 26 June 2002]: Government guidance on local authority waste targets and how they should plan to achieve them is set out in `Guidance on Municipal Waste Management Strategies', published by DETR in March 2001. However, it is for local authorities to decide on the nature and timing of any waste disposal contracts. I would expect such contracts to be designed to provide sufficient flexibility to be able to take account of, and respond to, changed circumstances during the lifetime of the contracts, including any future statutory performance standards or new opportunities for increasing recycling and composting. The Government have issued no specific guidance on future targets in the context of the current review of its waste strategy or the revision of the Packaging Directive.