If she will make a statement on the shipment abroad of recyclable waste collected in England by local councils.

There is nothing wrong with the export of recyclable waste, provided that the strict rules applying to this trade are adhered to. The growing international market for recyclables helps to boost recycling in Britain and the more sustainable use of the world's resources.

The Minister will be aware that, according to the Environment Agency, half the 8 million tonnes of green bin material thrown away in the UK is sent overseas, often to third-world countries that have great difficulty in managing their own waste. How does he intend to reassure people in this country that it is worth continuing recycling if we cannot even cope with the situation here?

It is not the case that we cannot cope. As I said, there is a legitimate trade in recyclable materials and in the growing economies of China and India, in particular, there is huge demand for paper and plastic. We should welcome that, as it means that trees are not being cut down instead, but very strict rules apply to the export of such material. They are important, and the Environment Agency has an enforcement role: it has already taken out prosecutions and is investigating a number of other cases. It is important to reassure householders so that they continue to recycle. They are doing much better than they have ever done, but need to do a lot better yet, safe in the knowledge that the vast majority of what they put aside is genuinely recycled in a sustainable way.

Large amounts of recyclable waste are not being recycled, but is not one reason for that the fact that the system of Government targets encourages councils to collect small amounts of such waste from large numbers of households? In contrast, a great deal of trade waste—from florists, or paper from offices, for example—is not being collected and does not count against the targets.

It does not count against certain targets, but the hon. Gentleman will know that we are doing better on recycling business and commercial waste than on recycling domestic waste. The Government will look carefully at all those matters in the waste review that we intend to begin early in the new year, with the aim of developing a new waste strategy by next summer. He is right that there are a number of what some people might call perverse incentives in the system and we hope to tackle them in the review.