Written question asked by Lord Pickles (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 October 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 15 October 2007. It was answered by Phil Woolas (Labour) on Monday, 22 October 2007 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Landfill: Methane

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the percentage of the UK's renewable energy emissions that comes from using methane collected from landfill sites as an energy source.

Answer: In 2006, landfill gas contributed approximately 20 per cent. of the carbon dioxide emissions saved by renewable energy sources. In the absence of these renewable sources, the electricity and heat they could have produced would have been provided by burning fossil fuels. Furthermore, collection of methane at landfill sites, reduced total UK emissions of methane by some 50 per cent. About 45 per cent. of the methane collected at landfills was utilised for electricity or heat generation, with the remainder being flared.

Secondary information