Prosiect Gwyrdd Greenwash!

to Cardiff Environmental Scrutiny Cttee.

* Prosiect Gwyrdd was portrayed to the Councils as a long-term
solution to residual waste, with a claim of it being "green". But

it's really an inflexible and costly incinerator, going for burning
rather than maximal recycling and returning bio-material to land.

* Cardiff's failure to plan new landfill capacity (despite 5-25% of
waste tonnages emerge as incinerator ash that requires landfill)
means that Cardiff is facing high transport costs from 2009.

* while we hope the collection of food waste will help, we are
concerned at the predicted (para.6) £6 million per year penalties
from 2013 for failing to meet the target for cutting biodegradable
material sent to landfill.  MBT systems that could remedy this have
been ignored.

* Prosiect Gwyrdd goes for minimising waste to landfill, which
contradicts current Waste strategy of minimising incineration and
landfill.  It has been held up by WAG since May as incompatible with
Wales's probable amended waste strategy for high (at least 70%)
recycling and composting.

* modular MBT systems that give increasing separation of recyclables
and of residues to be treated and sent to land are being introduced
in England.  Non-food land is needed, as derelict land reclamation
and forestry, but neither Prosiect Gwyrdd nor the SE Regional
Plan/Hyder assessed this.

* financing Prosiect Gwyrdd is problematic, as PFI is ruled out and
private capital is caught by the credit crunch.  The incinerator
'solution' is a mirage, receding well beyond 2013 and requiring
landfill of ash that is increasingly classed as hazardous.

Councillrs need to get moving on 'plan B' - high recycling
and composting plus MBT trials towards meeting the 2013 targets.

Regional Waste Plans can only get better

regional waste plans.

• Jane Davidson's figure of 70% recycling is admirable - and can be brought forward from 2020 with popular support

• her "new directions" document knocks back the predictions for "residual waste" in the Regional Plans and all the company expectations of massive incinerators, gasifiers and pyrolysis plants,
  

• municipal waste is not increasing at the 4% per year assumed in the plans, but near zero - and should decrease as people turn to reduce and recycle

• these regional plans should be shelved, pending the issuing of the WAG/Jane Davidson's new waste strategy for discussion and adoption in the New Year.

National network formed to oppose incineration

Members of a new network seeking to prevent more incinerators being built in the UK met for the first time last weekend in Reading.
It's crucial that we don't make the mistake of building technologies that will create a demand for residual waste. Dr Michael Warhurst, FoE
The network is called the United Kingdom Without Incineration - UKWIN - and was established back in March with the support of pressure group Friends of the Earth.

Green light for £17m Wrexham recycling plant
05-09-2007
Planning consent for recycling and in-vessel composting facility with 80,000 tonnes annual capacity

43% of waste technologies "unproven"
10-09-2007
Almost half of waste treatment solutions on the market have not been "proven" to work effectively, a newly-published report has revealed.

Cardiff recycling swindle!

I read this today- First we have scam 'green'. Now it seems we have the The Great Recycling Swindle!

Recycling industry insiders have told us that Cardiff residents’ waste, which is picked up all in one bag without being separated, ends up far too mixed & contaminated to be recycled effectively. The situation is the same in most UK towns. Much of it is sold on to waste dealers who export it halfway across the world to Indonesia, India & China, burning tonnes of carbon dioxide to dump rubbish on poorer people in the global South. Our waste should be recycled separately by operations in the UK, but because it is collected mixed togetherin one bag, paper mills, plastics, & glass handlers find it impossible to work with. Many UK paper mills have had to close down because councils are too short-sighted to implement proper recycling schemes toprovide them with clean materials.

One insider told us: “Cardiff Council will claim that it sends its paper to the paper mill at Ayelsford inKent to be recycled. But none of the kerbside recycling from Cardiff gets there. By the time it’sbeen picked up & taken to the central depot it’s been contaminated by broken glass & other materials, & it’smostly unusable. I know this because I’ve been speaking to people at the paper mills. I don’t knowexactly where it gets sent, but it stands to reason that if the UK recyclers are refusing it, it’ll besold by middle-men to the big dealers in the Far East.”Another industry expert, who also prefers to remain anonymous, told us that lots of our waste ends up inthe global South where it is picked over by poor labourers in dangerous & unsanitary conditions. “Thereare containers full of mixed materials illegally exported to developing countries where health & safetyis not a consideration & where children sift through what we would call landfill sites.

I’ve heard rumoursthat Cardiff’s so-called recycled waste gets sent to Indonesia, but only a few people know for sure. Theydon’t want to broadcast it”. Cardiff Council only recently opened the expensiverecycling ‘sorting’ facility at Lamby Way. One sourcetold us, “Lamby Way is a complete disaster. All it produces is low-grade contaminated waste that’s next to useless. That place was a total waste of money”. Another told us that big & costly separating plantslike Lamby Way wouldn’t be necessary if the public were asked to do the job in the home, or if collectorsseparated on collection. “Getting individuals separating waste in the home is not difficult – it’scommon practice in other European countries like Germany, & it’s also done in Newport!”

One big difference in the Newport recycling method, apart from separating waste at source, not exporting it & actually recycling it, is it isn’t run by the council, it’s run by a community group!
Waste savers Real recycling!

Cardiff recycling/composting rates

Cardiff recycling/composting rates 1999-00 to 2005-06..Worst in Wales with 9.7%..Way to go..Powys is the best with 36.9%!





Cardiff recycling/composting rates 1999-00 to 2005-06