§ Mr. DonaldsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what 559W arrangements are in place to monitor compliance with her Department's guidelines on the disposal of refrigerators; and if she will make a statement. [91644]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 20 January 2003]: To monitor the disposal of refrigerators, we have asked local authorities to report on the number of fridges they have dealt with as part of the national waste monitoring questionnaire.
To monitor recycling processes, the Environment Agency have been working closely with plant operators to ensure that they meet the performance standards set out in their permit conditions.
Treatment plant have been operating in the UK since the summer, local authorities are in the process of letting contracts with operators, and the backlog of stored fridges is decreasing and expected to disappear within a year.