1st December2009
blue bin collection day in Sheffield
The Green Party has criticised the Council’s waste strategy in an amendment to a motion to full Council this week. The Greens say that the when they locked the city into a 30 year contract with Onyx (now Veolia) to incinerate our waste.
Coun Jillian Creasy said, “We’re glad to see that the new Waste Strategy responds to popular demand for more kerbside recycling and begins to explore reduction and reuse and better management of commercial waste. But due to the massive capital investment in incineration, and the terms of the 2001 contract with a profit-driven multi-national company, the Council will have to find an additional £3.1m a year to fund it.
She added, “The amount to be spent on reduction, re-use and repair projects is seventy times less than the amount to be spent on recycling. The strategy hasn’t been used as an opportunity to kickstart anaerobic digestion which turns food waste into vehicle fuel and fertilizer and which would help meet renewable energy targets. And there is still no firm information about how and where the recyclable materials will be processed. How do we know that this will be done in South Yorkshire or by local business.