---

 
21 Oct 2004 : Column 1001
 

House of Commons

Thursday 21 October 2004

The House met at half-past Eleven o'clock

PRAYERS

[Mr. Speaker in the Chair]

Oral Answers to Questions

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

The Secretary of State was asked—

Fly-tipping

1. Dr. Julian Lewis (New Forest, East) (Con): What assessment she has made of the impact of fly-tipping on (a) local authorities and (b) businesses. [192818]

The Minister for Rural Affairs and Local Environmental Quality (Alun Michael): The Environment Agency estimates that fly-tipping costs public authorities and landowners between £100 million and £150 million a year.

Dr. Lewis: The shadow Secretary of State said that a Conservative Government would make fly-tipping an arrestable offence. Will the Government do likewise, or are they once again all talk and no action?

Alun Michael: The hon. Gentleman should apply that description to his party, given the sound and fury that we hear from it, with little positive to note. The Government have acted to strengthen the powers available to local authorities, including, under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, the ability to stop, search and seize vehicles suspected of fly-tipping. That enables action to be taken on the spot. We are also taking steps to increase the penalties. It is easy for Opposition Members to come up with absurd suggestions when they know that they will not be in power for many years to come.

Mr. David Drew (Stroud) (Lab/Co-op): As much as action depends on the ability of local authorities and business to respond, the key influence on them will be the consumer or, more specifically, people living in the local area, and I commend Mrs. Elizabeth Hall of Harescombe in my constituency, who has led a community action against fly-tippers. Can we be assured that when the community gets together and makes its points, all the agencies will respond to it, especially the Environment Agency, which has promised to deliver but has yet to do so?

Alun Michael: We have put in place the Flycatcher scheme, which provides information. In the coming months, we will provide for the first time a national picture of the extent of the problem.
 
21 Oct 2004 : Column 1002
 

My hon. Friend is right that information enabling the authorities to catch those who are guilty of fly-tipping, especially those who do it repeatedly and who make a profit out of it by not properly disposing of the by-product of their business, is one step that needs to be taken. The measures that we have put in place in antisocial behaviour legislation enable action to be taken. If individuals are caught fly-tipping, exchanging information and using our system to ensure that we catch those who are doing it persistently, while ensuring that fines are applied to them and that they are imprisoned if appropriate, is the way forward.

Mr. Peter Luff (Mid-Worcestershire) (Con): The Minister may know from letters that I have written to his Department that I have a particularly sharp fly-tipping problem in the Bredicot and Spetchley areas of my constituency on the edge of Worcester city. Will he use any opportunity he has to remind rural police forces of the need to give a priority to such a situation, and also, within the proper limits of his powers, to encourage magistrates and others to hand down draconian sentences as part of the considerable powers that they have available?

Alun Michael: The hon. Gentleman is right to point to the powers available to magistrates, and we encourage them to take environmental offences seriously. Much work is being done with the Magistrates Association to increase awareness of the impact of environmental offences on local communities.

As for police priorities, I suspect that the hon. Gentleman, like many others, has a number of things that he wants regarded as priorities. We are trying to improve the way in which the Environment Agency, local authorities and others work together to tackle such offences.

Ms Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent, North) (Lab): Will my right hon. Friend send out a strong message to North Staffordshire that we will not tolerate fly-tipping? Will he hold talks with the Environment Agency to see whether we could be a pilot area for a targeted carrot-and-stick approach that improves public awareness of whether we are dealing properly with waste while making it clear to those who do not do so that we will come down on them like a ton of bricks? [Laughter.]

Alun Michael: I am happy to give my hon. Friend that assurance. Unlike Opposition Members, who are all noise and sound and fury, we are tackling the problems, and we want them tackled in every area. If she has suggestions about extra activities that could be piloted, I would be interested to hear from her and her councillors about ideas that would help to enhance even further the steps that the Government are taking.

Waste Management

3. Mr Andrew Mackay (Bracknell) (Con): If she will make a statement on the Government's waste management policy. [192821]

The Minister for the Environment and Agri-environment (Mr. Elliot Morley): The Government's strategy on waste is set out in "Waste Strategy 2000",
 
21 Oct 2004 : Column 1003
 
published in May 2000. The Government outlined further plans in May 2003 in response to the Prime Minister's strategy unit report, "Waste not, want not". The Government are committed to reviewing their strategy on waste in 2005.

Mr. Mackay: Is not the simple truth that the Government have signed up to a number of EU directives with great gusto, which means that there are 4 million tonnes of hazardous waste in the United Kingdom with nowhere to go? Is that not a disgrace?

Mr. Morley: If it were true, it would be, but of course it is not. The Government are committed to moving to a sustainable method of waste disposal and treatment. That entails minimising the amount of waste going into landfill, which is not sustainable in the long term. There is enough capacity to deal with hazardous waste in this country, and I am glad to say that the latest figures show that the amount going into landfill has declined appreciably.

Ms Julia Drown (South Swindon) (Lab): I and many on Swindon borough council are keen to help achieve the Government's recycling targets. In terms of pounds per tonne recycled, the council does very well, but a number of its bids to increase waste recycling still further have been refused by the Government. Will my hon. Friend have a word with his officials to see whether they could discuss with the council what more could be done to recycle more in Swindon, which might involve more Government support for projects?

Mr. Morley: The Government have made more than £100 million available to local councils in the past year to encourage the introduction of more recycling facilities. The Government are always willing to talk to local authorities that have not been successful in a particular bid. The amount of money made available through the environment and cultural services block for waste treatment and disposal has been increased for all local authorities, but we are willing to give individual feedback to assist local authorities with future bids.

Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York) (Con): I pay tribute to the Minister's knowledge and experience, but he has failed in his first duty, which is to be prepared. He has had years of warning that, under the new EU landfill directive, co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste is no longer possible. It is absolutely true that there are 4 million tonnes of hazardous waste this year with nowhere to go. What message does that give industry and the waste management industry, which have not been given sufficient time to prepare?

Mr. Morley: I am sorry that the Opposition seem to have convinced themselves that there is some kind of hazardous waste mountain. There is not. There are not 4 million tonnes of hazardous waste with nowhere to go. The great predicted crisis has not happened. The facilities are adequate. The bulk of hazardous waste—about 60 per cent.—is contaminated soil. There is much more treatment on site now, which is what we wanted to encourage. The hon. Lady should be congratulating the Government on reducing the amount of hazardous
 
21 Oct 2004 : Column 1004
 
waste going into landfill and increasing the amount that is remediated, treated and reduced in a much more sustainable way.

Andrew Bennett (Denton and Reddish) (Lab): Can my hon. Friend explain the logic of the Government signing up to EU directives on the end use of motor cars and other electrical goods, yet not requiring drinks manufacturers to take back their cans and bottles?

Mr. Morley: There has been a big increase in the number of cans and bottles being recycled. The recycled material from cans, particularly aluminium cans, fetches extremely good prices at present. We want to see more of that. Producer obligations do apply to packaging, but the bulk of bottles and cans are bought by consumers through retail outlets, so we have to consider ways of encouraging recycling through domestic waste. I am glad to say that the recycling rate nationally has increased from 6 per cent. in 1997 to an estimated 18 per cent. currently.

Norman Baker (Lewes) (LD): Is it not a disgrace that, in round figures, we recycle 0 per cent. of household batteries, whereas the EU directive will require us to recycle 44 per cent., and the only site in the country for recycling such batteries, which is in Bristol, is being decommissioned? What is the Government's strategy for ensuring that we meet the EU target of 44 per cent., or will we have a battery mountain, along with the fridge mountain and the car mountain?

Mr. Morley: With respect, the Liberal Democrats are working hard on some kind of mountain. The battery mountain is a smallish one. In relation to the overall waste streams, it is a very small part. That is not to say that it is not important. We want to see more recycling of batteries. Car batteries have a high recycling rate in this country, but for domestic batteries—small batteries—it is true that the figures are low. Facilities are being established in the UK. The hon. Gentleman will have seen recent parliamentary answers from me on the subject. We want to encourage a greater rate of household battery recycling, and we will do that as part of the increase in recycling that is taking place all over the country.

Jonathan Shaw (Chatham and Aylesford) (Lab): My hon. Friend rightly said that he wants to encourage recycling. Does he agree with the paper industry that the quality of recycling is important, particularly when it involves doorstep collection? We have seen increases in weight, but we want to see increases in quality so that the paper industry can use the product to benefit itself and UK plc.

Mr. Morley: I know that my hon. Friend has close connections with the paper industry and is a strong advocate for it. I am glad to say that 100 per cent. of all newsprint in this country is now recycled, which is a significant achievement. Local authorities are aware that quality is important in collecting paper for recycling, which has not always been the case, because paper has in the past been inadvertently contaminated. We have drawn the issue to the attention of local authorities, which can maximise the sum that they get for paper by maintaining quality.
 
21 Oct 2004 : Column 1005
 

---