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Recycling a 'waste of time' unless more treatment centres are built
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent14 Jan 2009
PEOPLE recycling their waste could be doing so in vain because it could still end up in landfill sites, a new report warns today.
The National Audit Office accused the Government of failing to build enough large-scale recycling centres or incinerators to meet a 2013 EU target to cut the amount put in landfill sites.
The spending watchdog stressed that incinerator schemes had been dogged by opposition from local residents and only two major waste treatment plants had become operational since 1999 - in east London and Leicester. A further 18 are yet to come on line and projects for new incinerators are facing delays of 19 months on average in getting consent.
The NAO said: "England is likely to meet its 2010 landfill reduction targets but to meet the 2013 target the Department (for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) will need to reduce substantially the time taken to procure projects and bring them into operation."
Tory MP Edward Leigh, chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, said there was a "real danger" that the EU target would be missed, which could lead to fines of hundreds of millions of pounds.
He added: "Local authorities that missed their individual targets for diverting waste from landfill would be substantially penalised by the Government and local payers of council tax would be clobbered in turn."
However, Paul Bettinson, chairman of the Local Government Association's environment board, blamed the Government, saying: "It has hit the council taxpayer with a £1.5billion bill by going back on its undertaking to refund money raised through landfill tax to local authorities."
Reader views (10)
I willingly recycle but it would appear that I'm the only on the comments thread with a social conscience. I separate my waste into the various types and stick it out in the relevant bins. I also go through the bin at work 3 times a day at work making sure the recycling and normal waste are in the correct bins and I estimate it takes me a full 15 minutes of my life per week, not a huge price to pay to make sure that any future generations don’t die out because our selfish generation has destroyed all natural resources.
- Bob, Cheam, 15/01/2009 12:20
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The National Audit Office and the Government are both wasting time, pretending that private financed incineration is the way to treat the problem. In reality they are setting up a waste sub-prime scam where the easily-solvable problem of waste is turned into vast private profits at the cost of vast long-term public debt. The waste itself is turned into greenhouse gases and exotic toxins for our lungs. Then they scour what's left of nature's resources to replace the destroyed resources. No wonder the economy is collapsing along with public confidence in government!
- James Greyson, Barcombe, UK, 15/01/2009 09:22
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This has NOTHING to do with saving the planet! Its all about control of you and I. Its a way of criminalising people for minor infringements and adding to the biggest DNA database in the world.People who complain about these jack booted local authorities forget. They are working for you, Vote them out!!!!
- Duncan Walker, Lucky to live in Thailand, 15/01/2009 05:40
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Do as they do in Sweden and burn EVERYTING in powerstations. This is clean because it is burnt at extremely high temperatures. There are NO toxicins as even they are consumed. Almost no one recyles here & this IS green as the waste is free fuel... keeping electritity prices low and provides vast scale community heating for a fixed low price. What a pathetic place the UK is now where are terrorised in their own homes by their own govenrment... I'm never coming back. Everything, even metal will burn if it is burned at a high enough temperature.
- Sane One, Malmo, Sweden, 15/01/2009 05:19
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One thing they should do is build one (or more) paper-powered power stations. Paper is made of wood, so the electricity would be fully renewable "green" electricity.
This isn't the same as incinerating unsorted refuse. Paper burns cleanly. Mixed refuse contains all sorts of materials that generate toxins when burned.
- Nigel, London, 14/01/2009 16:18
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I dont recycle. Never have. All the apartments where I live share a large waste area where once a week everything is collected. Glass,paper, cardboard, electrics, everything - all in one large container is taken away. It is absurd that in other areas people can be fined for not seperating their rubbish whilst others can happily throw everything away in one bin..
- Joanna, london, 14/01/2009 15:06
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Central government really needs to take the lead on this: work out what (if anything) it is environmentally worth recycling; how best to do it; and then roll a scheme out nationwide. At present we have a hotch-potch of different schemes, rules and enforcement throughout the country, run by different authorities, and debate about the costs and benefits; leading to most of the population switching off and resenting yet another intrusion into the lives. Think first, act second!
- Adam, London, UK, 14/01/2009 13:31
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All it seems to do is create litter, business for black box makers, and a row of unsightly trip hazards in the street all week.
- Martin H Watson, Teddington, 14/01/2009 12:00
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Send it all over to Brussels and let them dispose of it
- R.F.Yorks, Yorks, UK, 14/01/2009 11:30
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We dont recycle our waste, we are bullied in to sorting it in to anywhere between 2 and 5 different piles. On the back of it, a whole new industry of prosecuting the householder has been created.
All this for nothing. A great example of the tail wagging the dog.
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke, 14/01/2009 10:44
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