Responding to questions from Ministers at the House of Commons this morning, Mr Meacher defended the government's handling of the Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) regulations and said that the confusion over the implementation of the regulations was the fault of the European Commission.
Mr Meacher explained that EC regulations drafted in 1998 required the extraction of CFCs from fridge motors but that no requirements were made in relation to CFCs from fridge foam. Mr Meacher said that an amendment was made in 1999 which left it uncertain as to whether CFCs from foam had to be recycled.
Mr Meacher told the House that the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) made “repeated requests” to the Commission asking whether the ODS regulations applied to foam. He said that the government did not get a formal reply until June 2001 when they were told that CFCs from foam would have to be recovered.
Fault
He said: “We were badly let down by the Commission. The incompetence is not to do with the UK government it is entirely the fault of the Commission,”
And while Mr Meacher acknowledged that councils need more money to deal with fridges and said that the government will make further funding announcements in due course, he rubbished claims that the cost of storing, transporting and recycling fridges could reach 200million as has been suggested.
He said: “I do not accept that the cost is 200million or anywhere near this.” But added that the government was “urgently considering” what further funding will be needed.
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