WHILE irritated by the two-weekly bin collection and my on-going battle with maggots, I do have some sympathy with local councils, especially when MPs criticise them for shortcomings in their waste collection system.
We used to have a system that worked very well, with people realising the wisdom of recycling and doing their bit.
However, EU states such as Denmark and Holland are running out of suitable landfill sites, so a “one size fits all” EU Waste Framework Directive (2006/12/EC) was imposed upon us all with the aim of eliminating landfill.
As we quarry out 110 million cubic metres of soil and rock, each year, far more than the refuse we produce, we actually need some sort of landfill and have been reclaiming such sites for many years.
The House of Lords failed to study the landfill issue in their Waste Reduction Report, just issued.
What the report did notice was the difficulties imposed on local authorities “related to the targets and costs imposed” and because targets “were set in terms of tonnage, they have been going for mixed waste.”
Dealing with glass, it quotes the director general of the British Glass Manufacturers’ Confederation, explaining that when he tried to discuss the poor quality of recycled glass with local authorities they understood the problem but were reluctant to change their practices because they had targets to meet and their primary objective is to avoid landfill at all costs.
This then affected the ways in which contracts were set up between local authorities and waste management companies. The CEO at ALUPRO (Aluminium) said that there was no incentive for the waste management company to produce a clean quality product because their profits were based on the weight of the material handled.
We need MPs who understand what the needs are of this EU state, and who stop this craziness of completely inappropriate “one size fits all” EU directives, forced on local authorities, before they go complaining in the press that bad government rules have been badly introduced at the local level.
That really is the pot calling the kettle black.
Greg Browne Estalla Close, Swindon
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