Written question asked by Sue Doughty (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 13 July 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 21 July 2004. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Wednesday, 21 July 2004 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, how many (a) businesses, (b) trade associations and (c) trade publications her Department has contacted to provide information on changes in the way hazardous waste is treated and disposed of from 16th July onwards. - Includes no figures, and ref to www.hazardouswaste.org.uk.

Answer: Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) businesses, (b) trade associations and (c) trade publications her Department has contacted to provide information on changes in the way hazardous waste is treated and disposed of from 16 July onwards. [184770] Mr. Morley: [holding answer 16 July 2004]: The Department has taken, and will continue to take, a range of measures to inform businesses of incoming legislation and their legal obligations as producers of waste. It is not possible to give a precise figure of how many individual businesses and trade bodies have been reached as a result of Defra and Environment Agency communications on this subject. A recent Defra survey, carried out among a cross-section of small businesses, showed a 78 per cent. awareness of the Landfill Regulations and an 84 per cent. awareness of the forthcoming Hazardous Waste Regulations. The Department works closely with other organisations who are better placed to disseminate information to businesses on our behalf. For example, Envirowise has produced a Hazardous Waste Guide for Chief Executives of small businesses, which will be distributed to over 13,000 businesses. The Department has also produced its own smaller leaflet called "Hazard Alert", which has been distributed to a wide stakeholder audience. In addition a dedicated hazardous waste web portal is available at www.hazardouswaste.org.uk.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 184770; 424 c250W
Session: 2003-04
Subjects: Business EU law Hazardous substances Landfill Leaflets Publicity Waste management Waste disposal Envirowise
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk