Asked by
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to implement
the Climate Change Committee's recommendation to pause permission
for new incineration plants to allow for a review of the
treatment of residual waste.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ( of Ullock) (Lab)
My Lords, the Government are committed to transitioning to a
circular economy. We are considering the role of energy from
waste in the context of circularity, economic growth and reaching
net zero. As part of this, we are giving consideration to the
Climate Change Committee's recommendation. This year, Defra will
publish an analysis of energy-from-waste capacity in England to
inform future policy. We continue work to implement packaging
reforms, drive up recycling rates and take material out of
incineration.
(GP)
I thank the Minister, but I am deeply dissatisfied. This
Government, in whom I had a lot of trust, have made the deeply
irresponsible decision to allow the Portland incinerator to go
ahead. I declare an interest as a resident of Dorset, although
nowhere near Portland. Incineration and energy from waste is not
a practical way forward; it is very damaging both in terms of
public health and environmentally. I beg the Minister to speak to
her department and suggest getting better advice on energy?
of Ullock (Lab)
My Lords, it does say in the Companion that you should not thank
a noble Member for their Question—so, on this occasion, I will
not. The environmental permitting regulations prevent the
incineration of separately collected paper, metal, glass or
plastic waste, unless it has gone through some sort of treatment
process first. Following that treatment, incineration is seen to
be the best environmental outcome. We know that the recycling
rate is too low, that we burn too much waste and that, for too
long, recycling rates in England have plateaued. The way forward
is to look at the whole big picture and our circular economy
ambitions are designed to address this.
of Pickering (Con)
Will the noble Baroness commit to looking not just at
incinerators but at anaerobic digesters and accept that they have
a powerful role to play not just in getting rid of residual
waste, particularly household waste, which is a very vexatious
challenge, but in heating people's homes at a reduced rate? Will
the Government keep an open mind on energy from waste, including
anaerobic digestion?
of Ullock (Lab)
As I just mentioned, we are looking to do a review right across
the piece on this, so anaerobic waste will certainly be part of
that.
(CB)
My Lords, it is all very well to incinerate waste, but does the
Minister agree that a real priority should be to reduce the
amount of waste that we produce as a country? The real way to
deal with this problem is just to produce less waste.
of Ullock (Lab)
It is a really important point that the noble Lord makes. If we
are moving to a more circular economy, as this Government want,
we have to see less residual waste being generated —in fact, less
waste as a whole. There is a statutory target to effectively
halve residual waste by 2042 from 2019 levels, but there still
will be an estimated 17.6 million tonnes of residual waste to
manage in 2042. Therefore, we have to look at the bigger picture.
How do we actually reduce waste overall?
(Con)
My Lords, is not the biggest incinerator in the country the Drax
power station? It receives eye-watering subsidies for burning
wood that has been transported across the oceans, creating
emissions, which has had to be dried and cut into chips, also
making emissions, and which emits, on being burned, more CO2 than
coal. This is justified on the grounds that, over the next
half-century to a century, trees replanted in those forests will
absorb CO2. If we can take this leisurely approach to reducing
CO2, is there really a climate emergency?
of Ullock (Lab)
I do not consider the Government to be taking a leisurely
approach on this aspect. What is really important is that we look
at how we decarbonise our energy from waste facilities going
forward. We have consulted on expanding the UK Emissions Trading
Scheme to waste incineration and energy from waste, and we are
taking on board the responses to that and will bring forward
detailed final policy in due course. We plan to include energy
from waste under decarbonisation readiness requirements.
(CB)
Currently, we are incinerating over a million tonnes of food
waste a year, as well as 64,000 tonnes of potentially edible food
that gets sent to anaerobic digesters; the latter in particular
is a clear violation of the WRAP food hierarchy. What will the
Government do to re-energise the WRAP campaign around food waste,
which, for a while, seemed to work really well but now is very
much on the back burner, and food waste is going up. As a
redistribution charity, we could really do with that food.
of Ullock (Lab)
The noble Baroness makes a very good point around food waste: it
is a real challenge. I know from talking to my counterparts in
the department that, as part of our review of how we manage waste
going forward, looking at food waste is critical, because there
are so many different complex aspects to it, such as what is
included, what is not included, and how we work with supermarkets
and with local government. She is absolutely right to raise that
issue and I will be discussing it further with my department.
(Con)
My Lords, in line with the Government's climate commitments and,
given energy from incineration is now our most CO2-intensive
generation, will the Government consider prioritising
incineration plants for their £21.7 billion package of carbon
capture and storage funding? Is it not better to fix an existing
problem than create new problems around hydrogen production to
fix?
of Ullock (Lab)
Obviously, the noble Lord knows that we have the new CCS—carbon
capture and storage—facilities open. We see that as a critical
funding decision that we need to be working on to move forward in
this area. It is also important to think about how we regulate in
this area going forward and how we recover the energy from this.
It a very big picture that DESNZ is working on to ensure that we
have sufficient energy capacity in the future, particularly
around industry, and that that energy capacity is produced in a
way that fits in with the circular economy and decarbonisation,
so that we can meet our climate change targets.
(LD)
My Lords, when Conwy County Borough Council in North Wales
switched to four-weekly collections of residual waste, this led
to an 11% spike in the tonnage of recyclables collected and a
reduction of 12% of residual waste. The council's cabinet member
put this down to residents being incredibly motivated to recycle
and understanding the local and global benefits of recycling. How
are the Government working with local authorities to improve
awareness of personal responsibility in this area?
of Ullock (Lab)
We are working very closely with local authorities but also with
devolved Administrations. One thing we see as a high priority is
building constructive working relationships with the devolved
Administrations and different tiers of government. It is only by
working together and sharing best practice that you achieve the
kind of results that the noble Baroness is talking about.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, I draw attention to my registered interests. In the
race to net zero, and given the importance of reducing carbon
footprints, how excited are this Government about our
world-leading advances in small modular reactors—SMR nuclear?
of Ullock (Lab)
This Government, as I am sure the noble Lord is aware, have
pledged great support for nuclear energy going forward. We need
it as part of our future energy security, and small modular
reactors are clearly a part of that nuclear journey.
(CB)
My Lords, plastic waste is a major problem for the planet, yet
plastic is eminently reusable. What action are the Government
taking to improve and increase the level of reuse of plastic?
of Ullock (Lab)
That is a very good point: we talk about recycling a lot but we
do not talk enough about reuse. That has to be a critical part of
reducing the amount of waste that we have as a country. This is
very much part of the discussions with local authorities, because
they have a key role to play in this. Also, encouraging people on
behaviour change is difficult and the Government definitely have
a role to play in that.
(Con)
My Lords, considering that we are being nerdy, I wonder whether
the Minister can share with the House the technologies that are
being looked at to clean up the emissions from waste incineration
plants.
of Ullock (Lab)
Unfortunately, I am not nerdy, so I am unable to answer the noble
Lord's question, but I am sure that we can get back to him in
writing.
(Lab)
My Lords, some people do not like nuclear power and will not
support it, and some do not seem to like any sort of generated
energy proposals. But, after 13 years of neglect, it is right
that the Government take a view that they will look to reduce
pollution in the environment but also keep the lights on.
of Ullock (Lab)
My noble friend is absolutely right. It is critical that we drive
forward our energy policy as a matter of urgency. The last thing
we want is not only to have power cuts and insufficient energy
but to become too reliant on other countries for our energy all
the time. We need to manage our own energy in this country, build
the kinds of energy plants we want, work on CCC and nuclear and
invest in the future for our long-term energy security.
