To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of landfill sites which have been used for the disposal of toxic waste (a) in Buckingham constituency and (b) in the UK in the last 10 years. (154588)

There were no landfill sites used for the disposal of hazardous waste in Buckinghamshire between 1997 and 2002. From 2002, the following four landfill sites have been used for the disposal of hazardous waste in Buckinghamshire.

i) Gerrards Cross

ii) Newton Longville

iii) Broad Lane

iv) Calvert Pit

Of these sites, only Calvert Pit and Newton Longville currently accept hazardous waste. The acceptance of hazardous wastes is controlled by the terms and conditions of the permits for the sites and within the constraints originating from the Landfill Directive. All other landfill sites accepting hazardous waste in Buckinghamshire were closed before 1997.

Data taken from the Environment Agency’s waste regulatory information system and landfill capacity data show that there have been 333 landfill sites used for the disposal of hazardous waste in England and Wales in the last 10 years. Data for the whole of the UK are not collected centrally.