Departmental Recycling

Stewart Hosie
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of his Department's waste was recycled in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dan Norris
The latest available figures show the following percentages of waste were recycled and recovered in 2007-08:

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|                                                                                    |Percentage|
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|Recycled (recycled, composted, reused externally)                                   |29        |
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|Recovered (recycled, composted, reused externally, incinerated with energy recovery)|60        |
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It should be noted that DEFRA incinerates approximately 30 per cent. of its waste, from which significant quantity of heat and energy is recovered. Current Sustainable Development Commission reporting does not acknowledge energy recovery from waste incineration as recycling or waste recovery under current Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) guidelines.