Lib Dems call for another Tory U-turn on recycling

1.00.00pm GMT Mon 9th Jan 2006

Liberal Democrat councillors have called for another Conservative U-turn to make sure the borough council meets its ambitious recycling target of 60% by 2010. Speaking at last week's meeting of full Council, Cllr Liz Hogger, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, called for the Conservative Executive to bring forward borough-wide services for plastic collection for recycling and kitchen waste collection for composting, and to make sure the County Council provided facilities for in-vessel composting in time to meet the borough's needs.

Cllr Hogger pointed out that the Borough Council's recycling action plan included proposals for trial collection schemes for plastics starting in March 2006 and kitchen waste sometime during 2006/7, but then no further mention of these trials and no proposals for borough-wide schemes until 2008/9. Cllr Hogger said "It's really important that we start to deal with organic kitchen waste, as it takes up over a quarter of black bags and rots to produce methane in landfill. But the details in the action plan are sadly vague, and the trial is dependent on 'availability of facilities for the disposal of kitchen waste'. We also need the County Council, who dispose of the waste we collect, to guarantee to provide the in-vessel composting facilities we need to meet our ambitious targets."

The Conservative Executive have already performed one recycling U-turn, when they rejected a Lib Dem proposal for a plastics collection trial in Feb last year, then decided to implement an almost identical trial starting in March this year. Cllr Hogger urged them to think again over the action plan. She said "I want to see plastic collection going borough wide during 2006/7, and kerbside collection of kitchen waste borough-wide in 2007/8. And we should seek a commitment from the County Council to provide closed in-vessel composting facilities to meet our timetable. My only hope now is that the Executive, or perhaps the Council Leader, will look at the calendar and realise that when residents come to vote for the new borough council in May 2007 they might be more impressed by a precise plan for recycling rather than two temporary trials and vague promises for the future. Let's hope for another Tory U-turn."