WRWA spearheads power struggle over London&#39s waste

The Mayor wants a single body to take control of London's waste disposal from the existing four joint waste disposal authorities and 12 unitary boroughs (see letsrecycle.com story).

”The Mayor is dogmatically sticking to an unbalanced waste policy, which will require too many local processing plants and relay on unproven technology.“
– Tim Coleridge, WRWA
But the WRWA – responsible for waste disposal in Wandsworth, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham and Lambeth – has accused Mr Livingstone of having “no idea how waste authorities work”.

The single waste authority would cause “huge conflicts and delays compared with the current arrangement where local councils identify any sites needed”, it warned.

The Authority poured scorn on the Mayor for wanting to “take all the planning powers for himself” while “pinning his hopes on alternative disposal methods that have not been shown to be capable of dealing reliably with large volumes of waste”.

Costs
In bringing in “unproven” methods of waste treatment, the Authority also warned the Mayor would make waste disposal costs treble, which “could cost Council Tax payers an extra 135 a year”.

Spearheading a power struggle over London's waste management, WRWA chairman Cllr Tim Coleridge said: “Instead of working with waste authorities to improve both recycling and diversion of waste from landfill, the Mayor is dogmatically sticking to an unbalanced waste policy, which will require too many local processing plants and relay on unproven technology.”

The comments came after some personal reservations on Mayor Livingstone's plans were expressed by waste disposal officers (see letsrecycle.com story).

Incinerator
The Western Riverside Waste Authority has itself pinned its hopes for waste management on what could become the UK's largest energy-from-waste incinerator. Although recycling rates have doubled within the four boroughs in the last two years, the major landfill that deals with the bulk of waste from the area is to close in 2007.

Part of the Authority's criticism of the Mayor's proposals stem from Mr Livingstone's outspoken opposition to the proposed incinerator at Belvedere, which went through a second public inquiry earlier this month (see letsrecycle.com story).

Cllr Coleridge said of the Mayor: “His ideological opposition to incineration plants, which provide energy-from-waste, will leave London with a huge gap in its waste disposal strategy to cope with the run down in landfill sites.”

The Authority said the Mayor “should stick to the strategic role set out for him by the government”, and “should now leave the existing disposal authorities, with their wealth of expertise and experience, to deliver an efficient waste management service for London.”