To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his estimate is of the percentage of waste generated in the UK by (a) business and (b) households in each of the last five years; and what his future projections are of these figures for the next five years. (173671)

Waste management is a devolved matter, so the following data are for England only.

The Environment Agency’s 2002-03 commercial and industrial waste survey is the most comprehensive and up-to-date evidence on the sources, quantities and management of commercial and industrial waste in England. No comparable data are available for other years.

The total commercial and industrial waste arisings in 2002-03 (including the hazardous waste stream) was estimated at 67.9 million tonnes, comprising 37.6 million tonnes from industrial sources (14 per cent. of total waste arisings) and 30.3 million tonnes from commercial sources (11 per cent. of total waste arisings).

Household waste arisings made up a total of 10 per cent. of the total waste arisings in 2002-03. Since total waste arisings in other years is not known, percentage figures for these years cannot be provided.

Forecasts of future waste arisings, in both the household and business sectors in England, are set out in Annex A (Appendix 1) of the Waste Strategy for England 2007, copies of which are available from the Library of the House. Figures take account of a variety of scenarios using a range of assumptions to reflect possible demographic, economic and lifestyle changes that will influence waste arisings—quite apart from the influence of specific policies.