§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will establish short-term guidelines for drafting new standards in co-ordination with the British Standards Institution and the Waste and Resources Action Programme that do not create barriers blocking the use of recycled goods; and if she will make a statement. [121987]
§ Mr. TimmsThe Government accepts recommendation 5 of the Strategy Unit "Waste Not Want Not" Report which states that
DTI should work with Defra, WRAP, industry and the British Standards Institution to assess what more can be done to promote the use of secondary resources through BSI standards".Significant work is already under way to introduce relevant standards—in the construction sector for example, guidance has been developed that seeks to ensure that standards support re-use or recycling of products. The guidance is being prepared for publication and use in codes of practice covering design of buildings and structures. A Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 100 for composted materials has been introduced and WRAP, which is partly funded by DTI, is working closely with BSI in contributing to the development of European standards for collected and recycled plastics and is working on a specification and good practice guide for recovered container glass. WRAP is also undertaking work which will assist organisations looking to meet European recovered paper quality standards.Working with stakeholders including Government, BSI will shortly be initiating the development of a robust policy that ensures that any real or perceived "barriers" 305W to the use of recycled material are removed where this is practicable without undermining the safety or other intended outcomes of individual standards.
§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when there will be a formal review of trade and industry standards identified as presenting barriers to the use of secondary resources and recycled goods; and if she will make a statement. [121988]
§ Mr. TimmsThe Department is working closely with BSI (the British Standards Institution) to ensure that policies and guidelines relating to the use of recycled materials and wider environmental issues are developed and implemented within both new standards and in the revision of existing standards.
The Department is fully aware of the environmental impacts that can be addressed through standardization and are planning to develop proactive solutions with BSI, Defra and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).