Clause 1 - Target years
Waste and Emissions Trading Bill [Lords]
10:30 am
Mr Michael Meacher (Minister of State (the Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Oldham West and Royton, Labour)
I understand that point, but the hon. Member for Leominster referred to other targets that are part of the waste strategy, which perform a very similar purpose. In Waste Strategy 2000, we announced a target of reducing the amount of commercial and industrial waste sent to landfill to 85 per cent. of 1998 levels by 2005. He mentioned that himself, and he is correct. That target is more modest than the much tougher local authority recycling targets because the level of recycling by commercial and industrial organisations, which the hon. Member
for Guildford (Sue Doughty) mentioned, is much higher. The Bill is designed to ensure that the disposal of household waste begins to meet the much higher targets met by industry and commerce.
Perhaps I should not give the best arguments to those who oppose me in Committee, but we should all recognise and deal plainly and transparently with the fact that this country creates 300 million to 400 million tonnes of waste each year. Most of it is construction and demolition waste. Industrial and commercial waste accounts for about 120 million tonnes. Household waste accounts for 28 million tonnes, which is a relatively small amount. If we are to have leverage on the totality, the capacity to influence other parts of the whole is important.
Relevant measures exist outside the Bill. I am not suggesting that they are unimportant or that we do not need them. I am simply saying that the Bill concentrates on an area in which we have, over a very long time, traditionally, chronically and utterly failed. We must raise the relevant standards and begin to get back into the European mainstream. We must deal with the overwhelmingly weak spot in the waste management system, and that is the purpose of the Bill.