Clause 4 - Allocation of landfill allowances

Part of Waste and Emissions Trading Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 3:30 pm on 3 April 2003.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mr Jonathan Sayeed Mr Jonathan Sayeed Conservative, Mid Bedfordshire 3:30, 3 April 2003

That is extremely interesting. I admit that I had not read that piece of evidence, but it goes to the heart of the problem.

There is no size that will fit all. That is clear. What will happen in an urban environment will be different from what happens in a rural environment; what happens in an area of sparse population will differ from what happens in a semi-rural area, where the population density is greater. There is also the history of the way in which people have learned and practised any form of separating their domestic waste.

We can all accept that one size will not fit all. However, someone has to be in charge, and the person in charge will be the disposal authority, which will require different authorities to produce waste in a certain fashion. Provided that everyone is producing the waste in the fashion that is required, even if they are not doing things in the same way, they should be permitted flexibility in the way in which they perform that function.

What is not set out and what local authorities I speak to are unclear about is what happens if they cannot get the collection authority's agreement to produce the waste in the fashion that they require—the two authorities may be politically at odds with one another—in which case the disposal authority can have a fine levied on it. As I understand it, there is no provision to pass that fine on to an errant authority.