Staffordshire County Council's requirement for a large new incinerator is based upon a maximum recycling rate of 50% by 2020. The need for a new incinerator is based upon Staffordshire producing 700,000 tonnes of waste in 2020, of which 350,000 tonnes will be recycled.
The council has produced data to attempt to show why a higher recycling rate than 50% is extremely difficult, if not impossible.
In September last year Staffordshire Moorlands introduced a new waste collection service. Since then their recycling rate has been over 60%. Staffordshire Moorlands previous recycling rate was 35%.
In February this year Stafford Borough introduced a new waste collection service. Since then they have almost doubled their previous recycling rate of 29%. They are not yet collecting food waste, so should be able to make further improvements in their recycling rate.
Staffordshire currently produces around 600,000 tonnes of rubbish, of which 180,000 tonnes goes to the existing Hanford incinerator. If, by 2013, when the new incinerator is due to become operational, all the Staffordshire areas are achieving recycling rates of 60% then the council will only be left with 60,000 tonnes of waste to fulfill a contract to provide 150,000 tonnes.
Any incentive to improve recycling rates will be destroyed by the 25 year contract to provide 150,000 tonnes of rubbish every year to burn.
The council insist that recycling efforts will not be affected by their contractual obligations, but there is a clear conflict of interest. If the county achieves a recycling level that reduces the available waste for burning below 150,000 tonnes then this will result in the council funding an incinerator in Staffordshire to burn other peoples rubbish.
The council is already cutting back on recycling facilities by closing its household recycling centres for two days a week from the beginning of April. |