Recycling best in Surrey? Let's keep it that way!

12.09.01pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 3rd Aug 2005

Local Lib Dem councillors have forced the Tory council to make a U-turn on plastics recycling

Guildford Borough Council's Conservative Executive must get its act together to make sure its recycling rate stays the best in Surrey. Responding to the latest claim that the borough's recycling rate is the best in Surrey, Cllr Liz Hogger, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, warned the Tories against complacency, and pointed out that the latest initiative on plastic recycling resulted from Lib Dem pressure. When the Council set its budget back in February, the Lib Dems proposed funding for a kerbside plastic collection trial to start in December. The Tories rejected that, but subsequently did a U-turn and now propose a trial scheme collecting plastic starting in March next year.

Cllr Hogger said "The Tory U-turn on plastic recycling is welcome, even though it's three months late. But it's not enough. To hit the 60% target by 2010, we need to plan now for collecting kitchen waste for composting - that makes up more than a quarter of the black bag waste that currently goes to landfill. Composting kitchen waste would make a huge difference to our recycling rates, and more importantly it would be good for our environment by cutting methane generation from landfill."

The Audit Commission's 'CPA' report on the Tory-controlled Borough Council, published in April 2004, stated "There is no robust long-term plan to achieve the council's challenging recycling targets." Following the CPA report, the Council prepared a Recycling Action Plan that showed trial schemes for collecting plastic and kitchen waste starting in 2006/7, but neither service would go borough-wide until 2008/9. At present there are no firm plans in place for the kitchen waste collection trial, and no mention of it within the Council's latest strategic priorities.

Cllr Hogger added "The Council must respond to residents' enthusiasm for recycling by showing more long-term vision, and put in place real plans for dealing with kitchen waste. The Tories seem content to coast along for the next two years, boasting about their achievements but actually doing little towards the step-change in recycling that we need to protect our environment and see off the threat of a large-scale waste incinerator in the borough."