---

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the increase in domestic recycling required in order to achieve new packaging and packing waste recycling and recovery targets under discussion in the EU; and what discussions she has had with local authorities in relation to increasing domestic and curbside collection of packaging waste to meet recovery and recycling targets by 2006. [62363] Mr. Meacher: The Department worked with the task force of the Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP) in the production of a report, published in November 2001, which looked at packaging material flows from raw material manufacturer to seller, and at packaging waste flows from point of discard to ultimate disposal or recovery. This report, which is publicly available, also looked at the likely level of packaging waste arising in the household stream and which would increasingly have to be recovered if likely higher targets are to be met. New packaging waste recovery targets have not yet been finalised but for the purposes of the estimates in the task force report an overall recycling target of 60 per cent. is assumed to have to be met in 2006. The tonnage needed to meet such a target would be in the region of 5.7 million tonnes and the task force report concludes that as much as 65 per cent. of the additional tonnage required may need to be recovered from the household waste stream. A first meeting to discuss future packaging waste recovery from the household waste stream was held last year between officials in my Department, the ACP task force and local authorities. Further meetings are planned.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

62363; 388 c682-3W;388 c685W

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Households EU action Domestic waste Recycling Packaging Waste management

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk