Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what quantity of (1) paper for recycling, (2) waste for incineration, and (3) residual refuse, was collected within the House of Lords in each of the last five years.

The Houses of Parliament do not receive a breakdown of waste by House so the figures and information below account for Estate wide totals.

(1) Since January 2012, Parliament has operated a mixed recycling scheme which captures paper, cardboard, plastics and cans as one waste stream and therefore we are not able to provide individual figures for paper collected as mixed recycling. Figures for mixed recycling (figures in kgs) are as follows:

(2) Figures for general waste (figures in kgs) which is processed through an energy-from-waste facility are as follows:

Parliament’s food waste from catering facilities is sent to an anaerobic digestion facility and while this is not incinerated, the resulting bio gas produced by this process can be burned directly in a gas boiler to produce electricity. Figures for catering waste (figures in kgs) are as follows:

(3) None of Parliament’s waste goes to landfill.