Waste management
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on waste management. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 05.02.2013 | Bin collection - Alternate weekly collection |
| Waste collection can be a contentious issue, particularly when local authorities decide to move away from weekly bin collection to alternate weekly collection (AWC). This note describes the reasons why authorities have chosen to do this, and related issues including the recently announced Weekly Collections Support Scheme. | |
| 11.07.2012 | Metal theft |
| This note looks at the increasingly high-profile problem of metal theft, which the Association of Chief Police Officers has estimated costs the UK economy approximately £770 million per year. There have been calls to reform the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 to tighten up controls on scrap metal dealers. In January 2012 the Government announced that it would be amending the 1964 Act to introduce a ban on cash payments for scrap metal and unlimited fines for relevant offences under the Act. These changes are set out in sections 145 to 147 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. In June 2012 Richard Ottaway introduced a Private Member's Bill that proposes to repeal the 1964 Act altogether and replace it with a new regulatory regime. The Bill has Government support. | |
| 13.07.2011 | Energy from waste and incineration |
| This note looks at the role of energy from waste and incineration. | |
| 04.03.2011 | Water bills in the south-west |
| This note provides information on water bills in the south-west, which are significantly higher than in other parts of England. | |
| 05.08.2010 | Fly tipping--the illegal dumping of waste |
| There are large environmental, social and financial impacts associated with fly tipping and the illegal dumping of waste. Local authorities, the Environment Agency and landowners spend more than £100 million every year tackling the consequences of fly tipping. This note gives a general overview of the extent of the problem of fly-tipping and the powers and responsibilities of the Environment Agency, local authorities and landowners to deal with it. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 06.11.2012 | Scrap Metal Dealers Bill: Committee Stage Report |
| It is thought that scrap metal dealers are the main outlet for stolen metal and that the existing regulatory regime for dealers fails to discourage the trade in stolen metal. Richard Ottaway's Private Member's Bill, The Scrap Metal Dealers Bill 2012, will introduce a more robust licensing regime to disrupt the trade in stolen metal. The Bill has cross party support. Its Report Stage is due on 9 November 2012. | |
| 10.07.2012 | Scrap Metal Dealers Bill |
| The Scrap Metal Dealers Bill seeks to introduce a more robust regulatory regime for scrap metal dealers to reduce the opportunities for metal thieves to sell stolen material. | |
| 22.10.2008 | Climate Change Bill [HL]: Committee Stage Report |
| Climate Change Bill. (Bill 129 of 2007/08) House of Commons Library Research Paper 08/79. | |
| 06.06.2008 | Climate Change Bill [HL] |
| (Bill 97 of 2007-08) | |
| 25.04.2007 | Social Indicators |
| Social Indicators. [Includes article on Smoking in Public Places and The 2007 Census Test and a Topical Subject Page on Waste and Recycling] House of Commons Library Research Paper 07/38. |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 24.03.2010 | Waste Strategy for England 2007. |
| Government response. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report [Commons] | |
| 16.03.2010 | Radioactive waste management: a further update. |
| Science and Technology Select Committee (HL) report [Lords] | |
| 06.01.2010 | Waste strategy for England 2007. |
| Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee report [Commons] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 12.07.2011 | STOP THE DROP CAMPAIGN |
| That this House supports the Stop the Drop campaign, run by the Campaign to Protect Rural England and its President Bill Bryson, to clean up litter and fly-tipping in the countryside; ... | |
| 23.06.2011 | ELECTRONIC WASTE RECYCLING |
| That this House is concerned by the findings of the Environmental Investigation Agency's report System Failure revealing that hazardous waste electrical and electronic equipment is ... | |
| 18.05.2011 | DRAFT NATIONAL POLICY STATEMENT ON WASTE WATER |
| That this House notes the publication by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the draft National Policy Statement on waste water; recognises the need to construct ... | |
| 09.12.2010 | DISPOSABLE NAPPY WASTE |
| That this House notes that approximately four per cent. of all waste to landfill is disposable nappies, which equates to three billion nappies weighing 690,000 tonnes; is concerned ... | |
| 29.11.2010 | WASTE RECYCLING (END USE REGISTER) |
| That this House is concerned at what happens to some materials that are collected for recycling by local authorities; welcomes the initiative of Somerset Waste Partnership in publishing ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 08.01.2010 | Debate on 14th January: The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. LLN 2010/001 |
| Debate on 14th January: The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. This Library Note aims to provide background reading for the debate to be held on Thursday 14th January: 'To call attention to the outcome of the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change' The UN Conference on Climate Change took place in Copenhagen from 7th-19th December 2009. This Note explains the significance of the Conference in the context of previous international agreements on climate change, sets out the major disagreements that marred the negotiating process in Copenhagen and summarises the key elements contained in the final Copenhagen Accord. It considers analysis of the Accord's achievements and shortcomings, and summarises the reactions of key nations and interest groups. |
POST Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 16.01.2013 | Maximising the Value of Recycled Materials |
| This POSTnote provides an overview of the way materials are recycled in England and how their economic value can be better exploited. | |
| 15.09.2011 | Anaerobic digestion |
| This POSTnote examines the potential for anaerobic digestion in the UK and the main challenges connected with its development. | |
| 01.07.2007 | Electronic waste, July 2007 |
| Electronic waste, July 2007. POSTnote 07/291. | |
| 01.04.2007 | Energy and sewage, April 2007 |
| Energy and sewage, April 2007. POSTnote 07/282. |
