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County Council says it will break government waste targets
Oxfordshire County Council, Oxfordshire's waste disposal
authority, says it does not expect to meet Government targets to reduce
dumping unprocessed rubbish into landfill. The previously undisclosed
admission comes in documents distributed to potential bidders for
Oxfordshire's future waste contract, a process called a 'soft market
test'. Oxford Friends of the Earth is calling on the Council to work
with Oxfordshire's city and district council's to collect and compost
food waste (about 20% of household rubbish) to lessen any fines the
County may receive, as seen in Somerset.
The County Council has undertaken some preliminary study into the
composting of food waste using in-vessel composting and shown that it
can be built in about two years, including gaining planning permission.
Planning permission for in-vessel composting is known to already exist
at one site in Oxfordshire.
Andrew Wood, Waste & Resources Campaigner for Oxford Friends of the
Earth said:
"The County Council has previously admitted that it's facing fines of
£4.4 million in 2009/10 for failing to reduce the amount of
unprocessed rubbish going to landfill. Now the County is saying it
expects to fail.”"
He added:
"Oxfordshire needs an interim solution to meet its landfill targets.
The County and the other Councils in the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership
should look to Somerset, and its Waste Partnership, for solutions that
can be rapidly introduced while at the same time finding other longer
term solutions. What we're seeing in Oxfordshire is political
intransigence leading to failure.”"
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