Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Waste Management article Comprehensive study of physicochemical and environmental properties of Air pollution control residues from UK energy-from-waste facilities, by Ximena Chamorro Bolaños, published on 15 March, what plans they have to tighten controls on air pollution control residues from energy-from-waste plants.

The treatment, recovery and disposal of air pollution control residues (APCR) from energy-from-waste plants is regulated by the Environment Agency in England. APCR is classified as a hazardous waste and must be sent to an appropriately permitted facility for treatment, recovery or disposal (including prior treatment where relevant to meet the waste acceptance criteria for a landfill site). The Government believes the current robust controls for the management of APCR to be sufficient to protect human health and the environment. Hazardous waste should be managed by waste producers and handlers in accordance with the waste hierarchy, which prioritises prevention, preparation for reuse and recycling over recovery and disposal.