Bradshaw denies bid to impose incineration on Cornwall

Liberal Democrat MP Mr Taylor called for a public inquiry over the awarding of an incineration-led long-term waste contract to SITA UK (see letsrecycle.com story).

But Mr Bradshaw told letsrecycle.com yesterday that the Cornish MP's claims that the government forced the county into the incineration project under threat of losing PFI funding were “complete nonsense”.

The minister explained that while the government does accept that more incineration will be used by local authorities to meet landfill diversion targets, it was up to councils to decide on waste treatment options for their local area.

“Best mix”
Mr Bradshaw said: “It is up to local authorities to decide the best mix of waste management for their local area. If Cornwall fails to divert enough waste from landfill it will be Mr Taylor's constituents who pay the price through swingeing landfill penalties on their Council Tax.”

The minister said government and local authorities were doing their utmost to cut landfill, since landfill “is by far the worst disposal option for the environment”.

He said: “This will mean more waste being used to generate energy – which helps meet our climate change objectives, but considerably less than was envisaged back in 2000 and less than most other EU countries. It will mainly mean a lot more recycling, re-use and waste minimisation.”

“Posturing”
Cornwall's five Liberal Democrat MPs are being pressured to provide a united front with Mr Taylor in challenging the incineration proposal. But it is thought that not all of the MPs fully agree with the position in private.

Mr Taylor's role in leading calls for a public inquiry was been described as “posturing” by one source with knowledge of the Cornwall PFI bid. This is because the Truro and St Austell MP was heavily involved in the original attempt by the county to seek Defra support for the contract five years ago (see Liberal Democrat website).

The source told letsrecycle.com: “Matthew Taylor knew that incineration was part of this contract all along – he was part of the original bid that went to the government for funding. He knew exactly what it included.”

A spokeswoman for Mr Taylor said in response: “I am unaware of that, and it surprises me. For the last few years he certainly has had reservations about incineration in Cornwall, and he has never wavered from that view.

“He was previously a Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, and I have been aware of a change in line. The public inquiry in his mind is the best way forward,” Mr Taylor's spokeswoman insisted.