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17 Nov 2008 : Column 95W—continued
Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers waste collection authorities have to restrict (a) the size of a bin provided to a household and (b) the number of bins provided in circumstances where a householder is prepared to pay for an additional bin to be provided; and what changes the provisions in the Climate Change Bill amending the Environmental Protection Act 1990, if enacted, are expected to make to existing practices. [224619]
Jane Kennedy: Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) allows waste collection authorities to determine arrangements for the collection of household waste, including requiring occupiers to place waste for collection in receptacles of a specified size . They must do this by way of a section 46 notice, usually in the form of a leaflet, issued to residents.
The authority's choice of the type and number of receptacles provided will depend on the collection methodology it is employing and its view on the capacity of the receptacles required by households, based on its experience of waste collection in the area.
If a resident is fulfilling the requirements of the section 46 notice, by separating out recyclates and placing them in the correct receptacles and yet still generates too much residual waste to fit in the receptacle provided for residual waste, the authority may make arrangements with the household for a larger or additional receptacle to be used.
A waste collection authority must collect all household waste presented in the manner it has specified in the section 46 notice. Provisions in the Climate Change Bill do not alter this duty.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what amount of household waste per person was (a) recycled and (b) not recycled or composted in each of the last 20 years. [234493]
Jane Kennedy: The following table shows the amounts of household waste recycled or composted and household waste not recycled or composted by English local authorities. Prior to 1995-96 estimates are only available for 1983-84,1991-92 and 1993-94.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what schemes relating to UK household waste prevention have been funded by the EU Interreg programme. [235066]
Jane Kennedy: We are aware of three schemes relating to UK household waste prevention that have been funded by the EU Interreg programme:
1. Rethinking Rubbish: Tackling our Waste issues together;
2. Community Challenge: Take Part, Make a Difference; and
3. Waste in Action.
The schemes are part of the Franco-British Interreg IIIA 2000-06 and the 4A (Manche) programmes.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the report commissioned by the Waste and Resources Action Programme from Eunomia entitled Managing Biowastes from Households in the UK: Applying Life-cycle Thinking in the Framework of Cost-benefit Analysis. [235092]
Jane Kennedy: This report is publicly available on WRAP’s website at:
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance the Waste and Resources Action Programme has issued to local authorities on the operation of weekly collections of residual household waste. [235131]
Jane Kennedy: No such guidance has been issued by the Waste and Resources Action Programme.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on co-mingling in the collection of household recycling and the use of materials recycling facilities. [235135]
Jane Kennedy:
How waste is collected and sorted affects the end markets for which it is suited and the value it will achieve. Both kerbside sorted collections and the commingled collection of materials for sorting at materials recycling facilities (MRFs) have roles to
play in the appropriate circumstances and are capable of producing materials of a satisfactory quality if properly managed.
The Government believe local authorities are better placed to make decisions on the waste management strategy for their area, and that they should be as well informed as possible when making decisions.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information is collated (a) locally, (b) centrally and (c) by the Environment Agency on the processing, destinations and locations of household rubbish collected for recycling. [235136]
Jane Kennedy: Local authorities are required to report data on municipal waste to WasteDataFlow. This includes details of the amounts of waste collected and the location to which this waste is sent for reprocessing or disposal.
The Environment Agency have access to information reported through WasteDataFlow by local authorities and they monitor and audit this as part of their duties under the landfill allowance trading scheme.
Facilities licensed under waste permits are also required to report to the Environment Agency on the amounts of waste they manage, by type of waste.
Domestic Wastes
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Beckenham of 9 October 2008, Official Report, column 746W, on Waste and Resources Action Programme, (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the remit and specification for the public affairs work undertaken by Chelgate Ltd.; and what public policy makers and opinion formers, outside established stakeholders, the company has been tasked with reaching; [232589]
(2) who the established stakeholder groups referred to in the Answer are. [232590]
Jane Kennedy: WRAP’s remit is to promote resource efficiency. This involves helping individuals, businesses and other organisations to reduce waste, recycle materials and find effective end markets for them.
These activities are of wide public and political interest, and the remit given to Chelgate Ltd. was to help WRAP communicate with parliamentarians and local authority leaders to inform them about progress being made, opportunities for further progress, and some of the innovative approaches WRAP has developed successfully in recent years.
The established stakeholder groups referred to in the answer given to the hon. Member for Beckenham (Mrs. Lait), 9 October 2008, Official Report, column 746W, are the organizations and individuals that WRAP works with in order to fulfil its remit, including DEFRA and the devolved Governments, the waste industry, local authorities, and the construction, manufacturing and retail sectors.
Environment Agency: EA Geomatics
Mr. Roger Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the
Environment Agency receives from commercial work undertaken by EA Geomatics. [231311]
Jane Kennedy: Environment Agency annual accounts 2007-08 indicate that £348,000 was received from the commercial work undertaken by the Geomatics Group.
Fly Tipping: Chelmsford
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents of fly-tipping there were in (a) West Chelmsford constituency and (b) the Chelmsford local authority area in each of the last five years; and how many people were prosecuted in each year for such offences. [232776]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 4 November 2008]: The number of fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions taken are not recorded at parliamentary ward level.
The number of incidents of fly-tipping recorded on the Flycapture database by the borough of Chelmsford and the number of prosecutions taken by the authority against fly-tippers are only available for the last four years.
| Number of incidents | Number of prosecutions | |
Prosecution action would only be taken as a last resort or against particularly serious cases, as there are several other types of enforcement activity that can be taken. Warning letters, serving of statutory notices, fixed penalty notices and formal cautions are also available to local authorities to use against fly-tippers.
Fly-tipping
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fly-tipping offences were recorded by Flycapture in 2007-08; at what cost to local authorities; and what proportion of those offences related to household waste. [235075]
Jane Kennedy: Local authorities recorded 1.28 million incidents of fly-tipping on the Flycapture database as having occurred in 2007-08, these range from fly-tipped single black bags to ‘significant multiple loads’. 60 per cent. of these incidents were recorded as relating to household waste.
The estimated cost of clearing these incidents was £73.8 million. This does not always constitute a direct cost to taxpayers as some authorities have framework contracts in place which include the clearance of fly-tipped material.
More detailed information on the data recorded on the Flycapture database is available on the DEFRA website.
Landfill
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much waste was disposed of in landfill sites in each of the last 20 years. [234492]
Jane Kennedy: The amount of waste disposed of in landfills in England in years for which data are available is shown in the following table. Prior to 1998-99 national data were not compiled, and until 2005 estimates of total deposits were made every other financial year.
| Total landfill deposits in England | |
| Thousand tonnes | |
| Source: Environment Agency | |
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether residual waste collected from businesses by (a) local authorities and (b) private contractors is subject to the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme. [235009]
Jane Kennedy: Waste from business premises collected by a local authority, or by a private contractor operating on behalf of the local authority, will be subject to the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the likelihood of meeting the 2013 landfill diversion target; and if he will make a statement; [235094]
(2) what assessment he has made of progress by the United Kingdom towards the 2013 landfill diversion target; and if he will make a statement. [235139]
Jane Kennedy: England is making good progress towards meeting its share of the UK's landfill diversion targets set in the EU landfill directive. The 2013 target remains challenging, but achievable.
The Devolved Administrations are responsible for delivering their proportion of the UK targets, and are best placed to make assessments of progress made in their respective areas.
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