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return to: front of pipe home > cambridgeshire's dodgy waste PFI (2005) How to waste millions by turning preventable, recyclable and compostable materials into mixed waste 'products' with no prospect of a positive market value Cambridgeshire are an example of an English local authority with relatively high recycling. They currently recycle or compost over 45% of household waste, which is almost double the 23% rate of English recycling. However, their municipal waste strategy describes itself as 'end of pipe' and offers no escape from dependence on high levels of disposal to land or air, via landfill or waste burning. They have no waste prevention targets or strategy at all and they plan to increase levels of recycling/composting by only 5% over the coming 27 years. They predict this will result in a doubling of current waste generation, leaving 400 000 tonnes of residual waste. They plan to spend up to £35 million converting this waste into valueless 'grey compost' and Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) to be turned into air pollution and greenhouse gases. The contracts to deliver agreed quantities and calorific value of RDF will destroy opportunities for serious prevention, recycling and composting throughout the region for decades. In 2002 Cambridgeshire County Council wrote a waste strategy which could have led to 'sustainable recycling and waste management for the 21st Century', as claimed in bold on every page. The strategy promised to examine the generation of waste at source and to set up waste forums to involve the public. They predicted a total of 530 000 tonnes of household waste annually by 2020, 50% recycling/composting by 2015 and a preference for anaerobic digestion or gasification/pyrolysis for residual waste. Burning waste and MBT (mechanical and biological treatment) were given as last resorts for residual waste. Since 2002 the County have apparently not examined opportunities for front of pipe solutions nor set up a waste forum. However they have ignored their own waste strategy by quietly selecting their last resort for handling residual waste as the only option being considered. Cambridgeshire have entered an agreement with the UK government department DEFRA for public funding of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme to use MBT produce RDF from mixed household wastes. This agreement is summarised on DEFRA's website (reference 1) though the County do not yet admit that it is based upon waste burning. In August 2005 they started negotiations with a shortlist of contractors with MBT/RDF the only technology in discussion. In September 2005, after the key decisions had been made, the County held a series of 'strategy consultation' meetings, in which strategic questions were excluded and invited guests were offered just the one option for residual waste. Following criticism at these meetings the County plan to distribute leaflets to the public asking for opinions on a range of technologies for residual waste. The glaring strategic question is again not asked, "why not just prevent, recycle and compost all this residual waste?". Given £35 million surely a lot could be done. Not so, according to the County, who claim on their consultation leaflet (reference 2) that waste which is not being recycled is unrecyclable, despite their own strategy showing that 83% of household waste is recyclable (reference 3). They claim that waste prevention is already 'maximised', despite the absence of prevention policy and a set of token initiatives which barely touch the surface of what is possible. What is the price of an end of pipe strategy for Cambridgeshire? The first casualty is the County waste managers' ambition, which was patchy (reference 4) but has now collapsed. Their 2002 strategy suggested long-term recycling targets up to 60%; in 2005 this dropped to 50%, with no improvement at all expected between 2015 and 2032. In 2002 they predicted household waste generation in 2020 would be 529 000t; now they predict 650 000t, an increase of 22%. The County are busy financing waste burning until 2032 but they have no known plans to increase waste prevention activities. The next casualty of Cambridgeshire's end of pipe waste strategy will be public trust and engagement in waste issues. 'Consultation' which follows decision-making inevitably alienates the public. When the public discover the County's plans to burn their mixed waste there will be massive loss of faith in all the regional local authorities and long-term disbelief and disregard of waste messages. Strong public opposition to planning approval for new waste facilities should be expected, with consequent failure to meet targets for biodegradable waste diversion and huge fines. The long-term price of burning preventable, recyclable waste is the sustainability of the County. £35 million of lost public money is not easily replaceable when local government leaders wake up and realise the scale of local effort required to address today's throw-away society. If the County attempt to proceed with their plan it is possible that government will overlook the scheme's ineligibility under official criteria (reference 5). The government may also bend the rules for Renewables Obligation Certificates to subsidise waste burning and new planning rules may block public opposition to unsuitable waste facilities. However the economics of burning mixed waste will not remain attractive. Since the County strategy includes no plans for preventing or collecting hazardous wastes from households the emissions and ash from burning will be hazardous and increasingly expensive to manage. Future European and national climate change rules will undoubtedly restrict and discourage the disposal of preventable and recyclable household waste to the air. It may not be long before questions arise on the use of public money for 'white elephant' investments. The public will never accept being made to breath their own rubbish and will continue asking for genuinely sustainable options until they are provided. How much public money will be wasted by Cambridgeshire County Council before they learn to throw away all forms of disposal? ---- Now see: Detailed evidence supporting an immediate halt to Cambridgeshire's PFI process 1. DEFRA reveals that Cambridgeshire's PFI funding for an MBT scheme presumes burning mixed wastes. 2. A consultation leaflet was produced by Cambridgeshire County Council for distribution in October 2005. This leaflet or any public invitation to comment was not available on the County's website. However you can download a copy here. 3. Cambridgeshire's waste strategy 2002 in section2.2.5 shows that 83% of household waste is recyclable or compostable (though they incorrectly add up the 54% organic and 29% inorganic fractions to total 60%). Over the coming decades European producer responsibility directives will make recycling rates above 83% possible. http://www.recap.co.uk/recapdocuments/thestrategy.html 4. The County assess the opportunities for waste prevention, in their 2002 strategy. 5. DEFRA criteria for PFI waste schemes, which are not met either by Cambridgeshire's strategy or their public involvement.
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