My Lords, I join other noble Lords who have taken part in the debate in congratulating my noble friend Lady Gale on introducing the Bill in this House. I am certain that noble Lords who have heard, and many more who will read, the way in which she did so will recognise that she will be called upon on many occasions to perform the same task in other areas.

This has been an informed and informative debate and on behalf of the Government I welcome the principles of the Bill. I congratulate the sponsor in Another place and my noble friend Lady Gale on getting the Bill this far so rapidly. We support the Bill and hope that it will help local authorities to meet their recycling targets.

In 2001–02, 58 per cent of households already received some sort of kerbside collection of recyclates—a figure increased from 51 per cent the previous year. This Bill will ensure that by 2010, in just seven years, nearly all households in England will receive that service.

In supporting the Bill, the Government are not moving away from the waste hierarchy, but underlining it. Clearly, the preference is, as the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, said, that waste is not created in the first place. However, once waste has been created, it is far more sustainable to reuse and recycle it rather than to put it into landfill sites where it will remain forever.

The noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, also raised the issue of Scotland. The Bill concentrates on England and gives enabling powers to the Welsh Assembly because the matter has been delegated in Scotland.

The noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, raised the issue of EU directives. Officials are unaware of any EU directives which directly cover doorstep collection of recyclable materials. It is true, as the noble Lord recognised, that the drivers of the EU landfill directive, and our own governmental targets to increase the recycling and composting of municipal waste, will be pushing local authorities to increase. We believe that this Bill will be an important step in pressing that forward.

The noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, also asked about progress with regard to the Waste and Emissions Trading Bill in the House of Commons. A date has not yet been given for the Report stage and Third Reading. The Committee stage was completed in April. The two amendments to the Bill added in your Lordships' House concerning composting and two-tier local authority issues have been overturned. However, the Government have expressed a commitment to bring forward an alternative Amendment to cover the two-tier issue at the Report stage. It is not therefore known when the Bill will return here.

All noble Lords referred to separation and whether there ought to be a minimum of two, three or four types of waste. I have waited some time to be able to say this. As a citizen of Preston City, I am delighted to announce that there is a fortnightly collection of normal and compostable waste. There is also a third collection, during the same week in which the compost waste is collected, of a blue box into which paper, tins and glass can be placed. It is a superb, comprehensive collection.

I appreciate that noble Lords are suspicious. The Bill allows for comparable alternative arrangements to be employed. We welcome this not as a get-out Clause, but, as noble Lords have recognised, there are particular issues in particular localities; for instance, the timing of buying new collection vehicles and so forth. Therefore, there needs to be a reasonable balance between urgency and proper local authority planning time.

I was asked about guidance. There will, of course, be guidance but, as the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, knows only too well, the Local Government Association gives the very good service of letting other local authorities know about good practice.

We welcome the principles of the Bill and hope that it will increase the recycling rate in England. I am grateful for the quality of noble Lords' speeches, if not for the quantity of noble Lords who took part. But I am sure your Lordships will agree that a large number of noble Lords speaking at length does not necessarily ensure either quality or progress. I wish the Bill well.