Tories and Mayor should start talking about waste and stop wasting taxpayers' money - Dakers

12.00.00am GMT Sun 18th Feb 2007

Cllr Andrew Daker 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, explains why he abstained on the decision of whether WLWA should seeking Judicial Review of the Mayor of London's Directions. Cllr Dakers is continuing to urge colleagues on the WLWA board to initiate an immediate search for recycling sites in West London at their next meeting.

Cllr Andrew Dakers said:

"Both Cllr Martin Elengorn of Richmond (the other Liberal Democrat on West Waste) and I abstained on the issue of West London Waste Authority seeking Judicial Review of the Mayor's Directions preventing procurement of Waste Disposal facilities.

"We felt that West Waste and the Mayor should work collaboratively to find the most environmentally desirable alternatives to landfill, something that the previous members of West Waste had failed to grasp.

"Instead both the majority (Tory) members of West Waste and the Mayor seemed increasingly intent on confrontation and polarising the issue onto the Colnbrook facility. Neither incineration nor gasification technology - which it is suggested appeals to the Mayor - are particularly desirable when their CO2 emissions are considered. In the circumstances Cllr Elengorn and I felt it appropriate to abstain.

"Crucially Cllr Elengorn and I would like to see West Waste put vastly more effort into finding sites for sustainable waste processing facilities within West London. I have called for this consistently at every board meeting since last May. Action to identify sites is now being taken by the West London Boroughs, but not yet fast enough in our view."