PRESS RELEASE: 20th February 2007
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colchesterfoePRESS RELEASE: 20th February 2007
Colchester Friends of the Earth
Paula Whitney, Co-ordinator: 01206/383123
(or 01206/793625 if unavailable)
Photo op: 4.30pm-5pm, Wednesday 21st February, five-year-old St George fights the MBT dragon at Colchester Town Hall before CBC full council meeting at 6pm.
ST GEORGE BATTLES WITH THE 'MBT' DRAGON AND THE WASTE DISPOSAL BADDIES OUTSIDE COLCHESTER TOWN HALL TO SAVE OUR RESOURCES
St George will fight the 'MBT' dragon and the Baddies to save our valuable resources for proper separated kerbside recycling and composting - not to be shredded and destroyed in a massive MBT (Mechanical Biological Treatment) waste disposal plant at Stanway.
The application has already been lodged by Cory for an MBT plant with a 25 year contract to shred and dry 250,000 tonnes of our valuable resources every year, and to landfill the 200,000 tonnes p.a. of mashed and contaminated dried residues in Stanway Hall quarry.
There is no dispute that this MBT plant will be hugely costly to the council taxpayer. At the Waste Plan inquiry, economist Robin Murray of Ecologika, on behalf of the district councils, proved that intensive kerbside recycling, sorted at the kerb, baled and composted locally, was two-thirds the cost of major centralised waste disposal plants.
It is against the wishes of the public. 76% of responses to the Essex War on Waste public consultation objected to all six MBT/incineration options offered. 69% supported alternative Option 7, for high recycling, separated kerbside recycling collections, sorted at the kerb, baled and composted locally, with no longterm waste disposal contracts.
It is against the agreed county/district 'Working Together' policy for 60% recycling and composting by 2007 (1) which has been ignored.
Paula Whitney, Co-ordinator for Colchester Friends of the Earth, said:
"This is utter environmental madness. Traffic produces one third of total climate change gases in Essex, yet waste would be trucked to Stanway from west and north Essex in polluting HGVs, increasing climate change gases and pollution. By contrast, the UK's 23% average recycling in 2005 was the equivalent in climate change terms of 3.4 million cars off the road!
People want to save valuable global resources by recycling and composting, not destroy them! Herefordshire recycled 48% last year. Hertfordshire only recycles 33% - the same as Essex - but have decided they will collect foodwaste for composting and not build massive waste disposal plants. They will then comply with requirements to reduce the landfilling of biodegradable waste until 2013 at least and see how they get on by then.
We and opposition councillors are calling for Colchester council's Cabinet member for Waste, Christopher Arnold, to oppose the Stanway MBT plant and immediately pull Colchester out of the East area Waste Management Joint Committee with Chelmsford, Maldon and Tendring councils, which he chairs, before the irreversible commitment is given for the 25 year MBT contract. It is likely other councils would then also pull out."
Notes to use if required:
Essex recycled 32% last year, but has dropped from 37th place two years ago to 91st in the UK recycling league. Nineteen counties are ahead of us now, with Herefordshire recycling 48% and some councils over 50% already.
MBT is a process usually used to make RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) pellets to burn in polluting RDF incinerators. Almost all waste disposal companies recently told Essex County Council that landfilling the MBT residues would be far too costly.
The draft Essex Waste Strategy is expected for consultation next month after all three MBT applications have been lodged with the county council. Yet it is required to have a waste strategy with broad public support. The Waste Plan remains the current valid document. It permits massburn incinerators or RDF incinerators on all six waste sites.
(1) Ecologika was commissioned to draw up detailed recycling strategies for each district to comply with the agreed county/district 'Working Together' policy for 60% recycling and composting by 2007. Three trials were set up to test the feasibility of this.
The Mersea trial reached 60% by 2002 for the same as Colchester's current costs - and far less than Braintree district's current costs. It complied with the final Landfill Directive target to reduce the landfilling of biodegradable waste by two-thirds by 2020.
Colchester Friends of the Earth
Paula Whitney, Co-ordinator: 01206/383123
(or 01206/793625 if unavailable)
Photo op: 4.30pm-5pm, Wednesday 21st February, five-year-old St George fights the MBT dragon at Colchester Town Hall before CBC full council meeting at 6pm.
ST GEORGE BATTLES WITH THE 'MBT' DRAGON AND THE WASTE DISPOSAL BADDIES OUTSIDE COLCHESTER TOWN HALL TO SAVE OUR RESOURCES
St George will fight the 'MBT' dragon and the Baddies to save our valuable resources for proper separated kerbside recycling and composting - not to be shredded and destroyed in a massive MBT (Mechanical Biological Treatment) waste disposal plant at Stanway.
The application has already been lodged by Cory for an MBT plant with a 25 year contract to shred and dry 250,000 tonnes of our valuable resources every year, and to landfill the 200,000 tonnes p.a. of mashed and contaminated dried residues in Stanway Hall quarry.
There is no dispute that this MBT plant will be hugely costly to the council taxpayer. At the Waste Plan inquiry, economist Robin Murray of Ecologika, on behalf of the district councils, proved that intensive kerbside recycling, sorted at the kerb, baled and composted locally, was two-thirds the cost of major centralised waste disposal plants.
It is against the wishes of the public. 76% of responses to the Essex War on Waste public consultation objected to all six MBT/incineration options offered. 69% supported alternative Option 7, for high recycling, separated kerbside recycling collections, sorted at the kerb, baled and composted locally, with no longterm waste disposal contracts.
It is against the agreed county/district 'Working Together' policy for 60% recycling and composting by 2007 (1) which has been ignored.
Paula Whitney, Co-ordinator for Colchester Friends of the Earth, said:
"This is utter environmental madness. Traffic produces one third of total climate change gases in Essex, yet waste would be trucked to Stanway from west and north Essex in polluting HGVs, increasing climate change gases and pollution. By contrast, the UK's 23% average recycling in 2005 was the equivalent in climate change terms of 3.4 million cars off the road!
People want to save valuable global resources by recycling and composting, not destroy them! Herefordshire recycled 48% last year. Hertfordshire only recycles 33% - the same as Essex - but have decided they will collect foodwaste for composting and not build massive waste disposal plants. They will then comply with requirements to reduce the landfilling of biodegradable waste until 2013 at least and see how they get on by then.
We and opposition councillors are calling for Colchester council's Cabinet member for Waste, Christopher Arnold, to oppose the Stanway MBT plant and immediately pull Colchester out of the East area Waste Management Joint Committee with Chelmsford, Maldon and Tendring councils, which he chairs, before the irreversible commitment is given for the 25 year MBT contract. It is likely other councils would then also pull out."
Notes to use if required:
Essex recycled 32% last year, but has dropped from 37th place two years ago to 91st in the UK recycling league. Nineteen counties are ahead of us now, with Herefordshire recycling 48% and some councils over 50% already.
MBT is a process usually used to make RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) pellets to burn in polluting RDF incinerators. Almost all waste disposal companies recently told Essex County Council that landfilling the MBT residues would be far too costly.
The draft Essex Waste Strategy is expected for consultation next month after all three MBT applications have been lodged with the county council. Yet it is required to have a waste strategy with broad public support. The Waste Plan remains the current valid document. It permits massburn incinerators or RDF incinerators on all six waste sites.
(1) Ecologika was commissioned to draw up detailed recycling strategies for each district to comply with the agreed county/district 'Working Together' policy for 60% recycling and composting by 2007. Three trials were set up to test the feasibility of this.
The Mersea trial reached 60% by 2002 for the same as Colchester's current costs - and far less than Braintree district's current costs. It complied with the final Landfill Directive target to reduce the landfilling of biodegradable waste by two-thirds by 2020.
