Leicestershire CC are running a consultation about waste, which appears to be primarily focused on residents, not groups, see Leicestershire's Resources and Waste Strategy 2022-2050 | Leicestershire County Council. The consultation closes on the 25th April and it would be good if county residents at least would respond.
This consultation needs to be seen as part of the wider picture,
for instance:
·
Peat. One of the excuses for continued peat use is
the lack of volume of the alternatives.
With District Councils in the county charging up to £55/year for green
waste collection we have a disincentive for people to treat their green waste
responsibly and a great incentive to add it to the black (general waste)
bin. What we really need is for councils
to stop charging for green waste and proactively seek it out to turn it into
compost as a peat replacement and exploit the commercial opportunity, if people don't have a home compost heap. This aspect gets little attention in the
consultation.
·
Air
pollution. Landfill sites emit methane as materials rot down. Methane is a greenhouse gas over 20 times as harmful
as CO2, so allowing landfill sites to emit it is increasing climate change.
With the current issues with fossil fuel prices we need to be capturing methane
and using it, a win-win commercially and environmentally. At its worst, methane leakage can affect
nearby buildings, Huncote Leisure centre being a local example of how to get it
wrong, see Huncote
Leisure Centre to stay shut for longer over methane risk - BBC News
·
Zero
emission waste trucks. While we all want to see less HGVs on our roads, we
are going to be stuck with refuse trucks for the foreseeable future. A commitment to explore more environmentally
friendly refuse collection trucks would be welcome, as is already happening in
Aberdeen, see Aberdeen
City Council adds UK's first hydrogen fuel cell waste truck to the fleet |
Aberdeen City Council which would reduce emissions and costs, long term.
With all these things we need the council to be innovative
and live up to the old phrase “where there’s muck there’s brass”, because we
have plenty of muck to make brass from.
Please respond to the consultation and encourage Leicestershire to think about where waste services fit in the bigger picture.
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