Nottingham's Third World Recycling

In a recent recycling and composting league table*, (April 1, 2004 - March 31, 2005) Nottingham City has come an appalling 341st out of 393 local authorities, with a pitiful recycling rate of just 8.72% and a composting rate of 5.28%, totalling 14%. Nottingham's recycling rate is just 3% higher than the worst in the country.

Over 80% of our waste could be recycling and composted, even the City suggest on their website that 60% is achievable, unfortunately they do not practice what they preach.

While the city achieves a pathetic 14%, neighbours in Rushcliffe came 6th and achieved 46%, proving it can be done! So why is Nottingham city's recycling rate so low?

Could it be the 60-year contract that the council signed with Eastcroft Incinerator, to incinerator our waste until 2032? Unfortunately the statistics speak for themselves.

When private companies spend millions of £'s building incinerators, they demand long-term contracts and operate 24 hours a day, 265 days a year. They want to reap the benefit of their investment, they have share holders pockets to line and fat cat directors to pay bonus's.

Being tied to an incinerator with a long-term contract, is obviously discouraging the city from improving on this Third World recycling rate. Building a third will do nothing to move us into the 20th century.

Over 4,000,000 tonnes of waste has been incinerated at Eastcroft, if this had been recycled we would have saved massive quantities of pollution, climate change and acid rain gases, cancerous and harmful chemicals, we would have saved the earths dwindling resources and prevented thousands of tonnes of highly toxic landfill, created by incineration.

We must reduce our waste, we must divert it from incineration and landfill to the clean, sustainable alternative, recycling. We must step up the fight to stop the third incinerator from being built.

* Source Letsrecycle.com http://www.letsrecycle.com/info/localauth/league/2004ranked.htm