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The
importance
of waste
recycling
by
COUNCILLOR LINDA
NEAL
Leader of South Kesteven District
Council |
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MAJOR CHANGES are taking place in the way that South
Kesteven District Council deals with the disposal of household waste and
it is essential that every member of the public gives their
support.
This week, the council launched its own in-house refuse
collection with new green freighters to herald the start of a more
efficient, effective and environmentally friendly service. It will take
time for all of these changes to be implemented but it will be
worthwhile because the new service will go hand in hand with major moves
towards increasing recycling in the district. But the question that you
the householder often asks is: Why is recycling important to
Bourne?
The answer is simple. We need to protect our environment
for future generations to enjoy. In Bourne, every household produces
approximately a tonne of waste each year. The subject of waste
management may, to some, seem rather boring but presently we are in a
period of rapid change. Recycling is vitally important to us all, but
first a little background information.
In areas like Lincolnshire
where we have county and district councils, the responsibilities for
waste management are split between those two authorities. The district
councils are responsible for waste collection with the county being
responsible for disposal. Kerbside recycling collections are the remit
of district councils but the provision of civic amenity sites, sometimes
called recycling centres, lies with the county council.
The
importance of recycling to Bourne residents is two fold. It is
about:
Products we throw away such as paper, cans, and plastic
bottles are made from precious supplies of raw materials. Recycling is
an effective way to cut down on the use of these limited resources. We
should however remember that in a rural area like Bourne there are other
considerations that should be taken into account, for example the
burning of fossil fuels to collect the recyclable material and deliver
it to an appropriate 'market' once collected.
The
processing of raw materials uses enormous amounts of energy. Aluminium
extraction creates up to four tonnes of waste mineral material for every
tonne of aluminium. This is clearly unsustainable and will prevent
future generations from enjoying the benefits of the earth's resources.
Recycling aluminium saves energy, raw materials and minimises the
environmental impact of aluminium extraction.
It is not enough to
just recycle. We should ensure that we buy products that are made from
recycled materials. Plastic bottles collected from Bourne are supplied
to a firm, which produces recycling boxes. South Kesteven District
Council has recently purchased approximately 20,000 such boxes from the
firm. Perhaps one of your old plastic bottles is now back in the area.
When we buy such boxes we create a demand for these materials and it
provides a secure market place for recycled products.
In Bourne,
we have for some considerable time had minimal provision for recycling
with bottle banks etc in various locations. Kerbside recycling is new to
us but with a participation level of approximately 85%, the response by
householders is no less than phenomenal. Through research of the methods
used by other local authorities, South Kesteven's best hope was a level
of participation at least 20% less. We must all keep up this good work.
With landfill charges increasing year on year and increasing recycling
targets set by government, we must maintain our enthusiasm and encourage
the 15% currently not participating to get involved.
When your
box is emptied into the collection vehicle it is transported to a
materials recycling facility at Peterborough. Once there, it goes
through the sorting process via a series of conveyer belts. At the end
of the sorting process, the different recyclable materials are baled and
transported to relevant recycling facilities, for example old newspapers
and magazines go to a paper mill where the fibres are de-inked and
washed to make more newsprint which can then be recycled yet again.
Packaging card goes to make new cardboard, fizzy drink bottles are
turned into fibre which is spun to make clothing or filling for sleeping
bags and mattresses; milk, fruit and detergent bottles are washed and
flaked and made into new ones; squash bottles are turned into drainpipes
and plant pots; juice cartons contain a high quality paper which can be
reclaimed; cans are made from tin-plated steel or aluminium and these
are sorted and sent for manufacture back into new cans; textiles and
shoes are collected on behalf of reputable charities for use in the
United Kingdom and abroad by those in need.
We all, but particularly the district council, now face
a number of difficult challenges, which include:
-
The
need for more waste to be recycled, composted or (in the longer term)
used in energy recovery schemes as a result of various European Union
and government initiatives, policy and targets;
-
The
fact that the amount of refuse collected is growing steadily;
-
The
fact that the costs of dealing with each tonne of waste are
increasing.
Prior to the introduction of the big green box
collection in Bourne, only 6% of the waste collected from homes was
recycled. In the short term, the government has set future targets for
all local authorities and by March 2004, in the case of South Kesteven,
this has to rise to 12%. A further target is set for March 2006 by which
18% must be recycled.
In the medium to long term, national
targets for recovery (including composting and recycling) have been set.
These are:
Recovery means to obtain value from waste through
recycling, composting, other forms of materials recovery or, recovery of
energy.
Earlier, I mentioned cost. In 2001, collection costs
averaged approximately £26 per tonne. This cost has now increased owing
to the introduction of the kerbside recycling scheme and will continue
to do so in future years to reflect the increased requirement for
recycling schemes to meet the Government targets in the short, medium
and long term. In 2001, disposal costs were £29 per tonne. Factors, such
as landfill tax rises and improved standards to be required for landfill
management, ensure that however we dispose of waste, disposal costs will
be significantly higher in the future. It is predicted that the costs
will double over the next few years because of all these government
targets.
To summarise: recycling is here to stay. Over the next
5-10 years, Lincolnshire will only be permitted to landfill
approximately one third of the current waste by weight. Treatment
processes and a much greater emphasis on recycling will therefore be
necessary. Although we are going through change at the moment, if all
the targets are to be realised many more changes will be required, as
well as additional finance. The councils in Lincolnshire will need to
put resources into the difficult tasks of halting the steady increase in
waste generation and developing markets for recyclable materials. There
will also be a need to consider how best to introduce future services
and facilities so as to meet the range of government set targets, whilst
minimising associated cost increases.
WRITTEN JUNE 2003
See also Councillor Linda
Neal
Photo: Courtesy South Kesteven District
Council |
