§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much recycled rubber was imported in each of the last five years; what proportion imports accounted for of all recycled rubber used in each of those years; and if she will make a statement. [132670]
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§ Mr. Mike O'BrienFigures for the import of recycled rubber are:
Kilograms Imports Reclaimed rubber1 Waste rubber 1998 2,712,604 4,038,920 1999 2,200,850 3,442,150 2000 1,186,301 3,807,662 2001 1,325,191 5,084,458 2002 2,246,603 6,749,131 1Reclaimed rubber in primary forms or in plates, sheets or strip (CN 400300. 2 Waste parings and scrap of unhardened rubber and powders and granules obtained therefrom (CN400400). Although there is some limited information on the sales of reclaimed rubber by UK manufacturers [PRODCOM Report PRA 25130, available from the National Statistics website http://www.statistics.gov.uk/onlineproducts/PRODCOM2001_annual.asp], it excludes reclaimed rubber not sold because it is subsequently used by the same manufacturer. It also excludes such recycled rubber products as those obtained by cutting up worn-out tyres. As such it is not possible to produce an estimate of the use of recycled rubber.