When the Sussex village of Balcombe was chosen as a test site for fracking last year the protest industry flocked to the scene, with media photographers in their wake, busily snapping activists being dragged off on the first stage of their route to the magistrates court.
In the meantime the inhabitants – some against fracking, some for, some dont knows – got together and decided to become self-sufficient in energy, efficiently forming a co-operative and raising an initial 300,000 for solar-powered generation; their aims and achievements to date can be viewed at www.repowerbalcombe.com.
So thats the UK energy supply problem sorted – communities up and down the country take the matter into their own hands. What about the resource/recycling industry – when Balcombe finds the time will the co-operative apply the same logic to the community waste streams? Through licensed waste handlers might it decide to maximise the value of its recyclable materials, establishing for example whether to compact and bale their old milk cartons, negotiate logistics and transport to the reprocessor, and play spot or forward in the feedstock markets?
Should the community perhaps set up its own AD, biomass or combined heat and power plant?
Investment
These may be easier decisions to make than those considered during the negotiations for a 27-year waste handling contract recently abandoned in North London (worth around 3 billion) or Norfolk (only 500 million). Should smart investment look as much at support for community-based infrastructure in future as it currently does to mega-sized projects?
Empowering communities in energy and resource management will be the lead agenda topic in a roadshow of workshops organised by the Resource Forum in association with ACE (Action for Community & Environment) , launching in central London on 15th May, and followed by an East London event on 2nd July.
Through ACEs connections in the London/Africa diaspora, and the participation of BEN Television, bilateral links and initiatives will be a feature of these events. To register for the event, and for options and opportunities to promote support products and services, go to
www.theresourceforum.org.
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