Nappies (Hansard, 10 May 2004)

§ Tim Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has received a copy of the recent report from the Women's Environmental Network on the economic and environmental costs of the promotion, use and disposal as clinical waste of disposable nappies within the National Health Service. [169044]

§ Dr. Ladyman
Officials at the Department have received and responded to the recent report from the Women's Environmental Network on the use of disposable nappies within the National Health Service.

§ Tim Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate(a) the average unit cost of disposal as clinical waste of disposable nappies within the National Health Service and (b) the total cost to the NHS of the disposal of such nappies in the last year for which figures are available. [169045]

§ Dr. Ladyman
National Health Service trusts establish their own policy on the disposal of nappies and will decide whether to treat them as domestic waste, and therefore send them to landfill sites or clinical waste and therefore incinerate them. The cost of clinical waste involving disposable nappies is not collected centrally.

§ Tim Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether officials of his Department have met officials of the Waste Implementation Programme of the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss how best to identify and promote best practice in nappy use, promotion and disposal within the National Health Service. [169046]

§ Dr. Ladyman
Officials at the Department have not met officials of the waste implementation programme at the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs to discuss the use of nappies in the National Health Service. In July 2003 my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, met my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Environment and Agri-Environment (Elliot Morley), along with representatives from the Women's Environmental Network to discuss disposable nappy waste and the use of reusable nappies in the NHS.

§ Tim Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet representatives of the Nappy Alliance to discuss policy and practice in the use of nappies within NHS facilities. [169047]

§ Dr. Ladyman
I will consider meeting representatives of the Nappy Alliance following a written request to the Department.