24 March 2011
Warrington Green Party welcomes the decision of the council not to build a waste incinerator to deal with the waste disposal problems. When the contract to send the wast to landfill runs out at the end of 2013, new ways of dealing with waste need to be in place. In order to deal with this the council's waste disposal contracts will be tendered.
But at the same time the Green Party supports a much more active recycling policy in Warrington.
Particularly the separate collection of food waste would be a huge step in the right direction. Food waste constitutes about 19% of landfill, creating huge problems as it rots and produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more dangerous than CO2.
There are ways of dealing with food waste: composting is one, anaerobic digestion is another method that has become much more viable in recent years. Both convert food waste into something useful: compost or energy. The remaining black bin waste can be processed by Mechanical Biological Treatment to sort out any recyclables and biodegradables, leaving only a small amount of residue to send to landfill. Research has found this to be a much better treatment in terms of climate change.
Separate collection of food waste will greatly improve the town's recycling rates, and go a long way in meeting targets of recycling and reducing our town's carbon footprint.
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