We must act fast to secure new recycling sites - Dakers

10.19.27pm GMT Sun 26th Nov 2006

Cllr Andrew Dakers has been a passionate advocate of recycling and zero waste for many years

Liberal Democrat Councillor Dakers, elected by Hounslow Council to serve on the board of West London Waste Authority (WLWA) for 2006-7, today responded to West London Friends of the Earth concern that the organisation was "sleep-walking into incineration". Cllr Dakers stated that he is continuing to urge colleagues on the WLWA board to initiate an immediate search for recycling sites in West London at their next meeting. On Friday he called on other WLWA board members to support an increase in the authority's staff capacity to tackle waste prevention and minimisation at a West London level.

Cllr Andrew Dakers said:

"Far from sleep-walking Hounslow and the other West London Councils are working to address the very difficult situation on waste disposal we inherited in May when five out of six of the Councils making up the West London Waste Authority (WLWA) changed political control.

"The lack of political leadership given by our predecessors means that WLWA is much behind most other waste disposal authorities in finding alternatives to landfill. Unless a clear way forward is found very soon to divert organic waste from landfill the result could be major financial penalties falling on our Council tax payers when the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme starts to bite in 2009.

"At the October meeting of WLWA there was a discussion on carrying out a procurement exercise for part of the six boroughs' residual waste. Part of the draft minutes read: 'Terry Welsh, Clerk to the Authority, questioned whether Members accepted that incineration should be among the options that the Authority must consider as part of the diversion of waste from landfill. Councillor Elengorn [Lib Dem Richmond] stated that he did have concerns about incineration. However, in the circumstances he felt that it was only prudent and proper that the Authority should proceed to the tender stage.'

"This is very much a shorthand account of what Cllr Elengorn said, but like me he hoped that alternatives to Energy from Waste (incineration) might emerge from the procurement exercise which we would be able to support. We both made it clear that we could not undertake to support a tender based on incineration."

In the event the Mayor of London has since served a draft Direction on WLWA with the purpose of constraining the procurement exercise to secure outcomes of the very sort we might feel able to support. WLWA will be discussing this at its meeting early in December.

Cllr Dakers added:

"Cllr Elengorn, the Lib Dem member representing Richmond, and I are concerned that WLWA is not putting sufficient urgency and determination into identifying new sites in the six boroughs where recycling plants offering acceptable technology might be built.

"For the past six months I have advocated a faster site search across West London and on Friday I proposed to board members that we commission an immediate site search followed by a series of planning applications where appropriate. This is an approach that has already been undertaken in Cornwall.

"Furthermore I have called for the WLWA board to increase staff capacity to tackle waste prevention and minimisation at a West London level. This is an approach that many other London waste disposal authorities have already adopted.

"On Friday Cllr Elengorn also proposed an urgent high-level meeting between the six boroughs to consider the way forward."