Written question asked by Caroline Spelman (Conservative) on Thursday, 5 February 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 23 February 2004. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Monday, 23 February 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, what plans she has to include home composting in recycling figures at (a) local and (b) national level.

Answer: Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to include home composting in recycling figures at (a) local and (b) national level. [154300] Mr. Morley: The Government are working with expert bodies, including the Waste and Resources Action Programme, to develop a robust methodology to calculate the amount of waste diverted from the household waste stream through home composting schemes. If a workable and auditable methodology is found, the Government will then review whether and how home composting can be incorporated into future local and national recycling and composting figures. The impact of home composting on waste reduction is already reflected at local level by Best Value Performance Indicator 84, which measures kilograms of household waste collected per head of population. Home composting activity will also be reflected in local and national progress towards meeting targets under the Landfill Directive to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill.

Secondary information