To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he will report on the progress of his Department's 10 demonstration plants to encourage new technologies to treat biodegradable municipal waste. (78537)

A full report of all of the demonstration projects will be published as soon as DEFRA have completed due diligence and agreed contracts with technology providers.

At present DEFRA have completed four contracts and it is anticipated that a number of others will be completed by the end of June 2006.

The four signed contracts are with Bioganix, Greenfinch/South Shropshire, Premier Waste and Novera. Further information on these technologies is available on the DEFRA website at the following address:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/wip/newtech/dem-programme/index.htm