Written question asked by Sue Doughty (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 8 July 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 1 September 2003. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Monday, 1 September 2003 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on Government waste minimisation programmes to (a) increase the number of households that practise composting, (b) promote reusable nappies, (c) promote a reduction of waste from supermarket purchased products and (d) create an innovation fund to develop innovative ways to deal with waste. - Includes figure.

Answer: Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on Government waste minimisation programmes to (a) increase the number of households that practise composting, (b) promote reusable nappies, (c) promote a reduction of waste from supermarket purchased products and (d) create an innovation fund to develop innovative ways to deal with waste. [125129] Mr. Morley: In accordance with the recommendations of the Strategy Unit, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) will be taking forward a number of waste minimisation activities as part of Defra's new Waste Implementation Programme (WIP). These include a targeted national home composting programme to promote best practise and partnership working among local authorities, the development of a re-useable nappy service with a programme of support for SMEs, a major retailer initiative working with the top five supermarket chains and a waste innovation fund to provide resources to support innovation by retailers and others in areas such as minimising material used in consumer products. The budget to deliver these measures is £8 million in 2003-04.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 125129; 409 c853W
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Compost Finance Domestic waste Recycling Waste management Waste Nappies WRAP
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk