When Brent's new waste strategy was first mooted, Brent Friends of the Earth made powerful submissions to Council committees, LINK raising questions about 'co-mingling', the mixing of all recyclables in one container rather than separation at the kerbside. They suggested that because of the resulting contamination the recyclables would be of less value to waste processing firms. Unsaleable recyclables would end up in landfill or be exported to third world countries, perhaps for sorting by child labour. FoE raised concerns about the end destination of the waste but the council responded that this was not their concern - their responsibility ended once the waste had been collected by Veolia.
Recently Channel 4's Dispatches raised some of the same issues in their recent programme 'Britain's Waste'. It can be seen HERE
Meanwhile Lorraine Skinner has uploaded a new video about the blue bins:
This has produced a pithy comment from Ian Saville:
Recently Channel 4's Dispatches raised some of the same issues in their recent programme 'Britain's Waste'. It can be seen HERE
Meanwhile Lorraine Skinner has uploaded a new video about the blue bins:
This has produced a pithy comment from Ian Saville:
- In my street, neighbours are still quite confused about what needs to go where, and some people are clearly just using the blue bin for everything. It seems therefore that the level of contamination is going to be considerably higher than it was before, especially since those collecting the waste now have much less opportunity to check that the bins are being used correctly. Before we are told that this has enormously increased the rate of recycling, we need some way of estimating the extra cost of sorting, the contamination from material that should go into residual, and the difficulties caused by broken glass in the paper. Does anybody know how this is being monitored?
4 comments:
Isn’t it amazing how different councils can come up with such different waste regimes. I suppose that’s diversity for you, or is it the market?
Here in Redbridge we stopped co-mingling some time back, separating paper from other recyclables due to glass shard contamination. We still only had one box, but you could ask for another or put the paper in a plastic bag inside the box. Last May we all got an additional blue box for paper and cardboard the latter having been introduced at that time.
In 2009 we started green garden waste kerbside collection but only from April to October, which has been a huge success. It doesn’t include kitchen waste or food but we have a BioMRF at Jenkins Lane where this is separated out from landfill waste. The green waste is also collected in a heavy duty reusable green bag which is much easier to store when not in use.
The big gripe we have here though is plastic as demonstrated by “Weggis” on the Council website forum.
There’s a review going on now and I will pass your post on as an example of what NOT to do.
Ian, David & I went to the Kingsbury & Kenton ACF last week. There was a presentation fron a recyling officer.Most of the sorting of comingled waste is done mechanically. It was apparent how poorly some attendees had understood the leaflets, despite being quite well-educated. Brent Council will supply people with a second blue-topped (recycling) bin on request, but not a grey bin.
We have been getting more junk dumped in or front drive since the change in waste collection.
Actually Martin, the Council pointed out that Brent FoE had produced no evidence that waste would be sent to Third World countries, and that the contractor denied it. The only material that Brent FoE chose to mention was paper, and it was explained that paper is likely to be sent to sites in either Belgium or Germany (where their Labour laws may well be better than the UK).
I am genuinely puzzled that people who regard themselves as environmentalist are so dedicated to making captious objections not just on reycling but also on all the Council's other environmental projects.
Actually - James and his fellow executive did not rule out where the waste would end up, or seem to have any concerns over this, rightly leaving them open to due criticism. It is not for Brent FoE or other groups to prove where the waste might end up, but for the Council to have a clear policy on this, as did the previous administration at Brent.
Residents may also be genuinely puzzled that someone in his position, is so adamant that they are always right and readily criticises others when they take the trouble to take interest in what the council is doing and dare to comment. It is called 'democracy'.
It is not without reason that some Councillors have already been deselected to represent the community at the next election.
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