Council waste and recycling services “short-changed”

Despite an initial welcome for a pledge by the Chancellor of increased Private Finance Initiative funding for new waste management services (see letsrecycle.com story), concerns are that the overall settlement for council services – of around 1% – will not allow local authorities to cope with the increasing cost of waste management.

LGA chairman Sir Simon Milton said: “This is the worst settlement for local government in a decade. Councils will continue to work hard for the people they serve but they face tough choices.

“The 1% real terms funding increase for councils will not enable councils to deliver the new services promised by government, or meet the cost of providing services for increasing numbers of older people and meeting the increasing cost of waste management,” he added.

CIWM

The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, which represents over 6,000 waste management professionals, said that council waste and recycling services had been “short-changed” by the Treasury.

CIWM chief executive Steve Lee said: “Building a more sustainable approach to waste and resources management means high quality collection and recycling services for householders, high quality sorting and treatment facilities, and high quality recovered materials for industry – and there is an unavoidable cost attached to meeting these fundamental needs.”

Mr Lee added concern that the Government has focused too heavily on the Private Finance Initiative as the key funding route for infrastructure development.

He said: “The increase in PFI funding is welcome and much needed if we are to deliver the long term increase in infrastructure that is required. However, PFI is a complex and lengthy process that is unlikely to meet short and medium term infrastructure needs and will not always provide authorities with the flexibility to develop appropriately sized facilities to meet local requirements and circumstances.”

Defra

John Burns, director of the Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) at Defra, said that it would be up to local authorities how the money was spent.

He said: “It is difficult to know the impact on local authority and to what extent it includes an increase to waste management. Within local government you get a block settlement and it is up to them how it is used and how spend increases will be included.”