A commission report issued this week found the council to be “providing a poor service that has uncertain prospects for improvement.” The inspectors visited the authority in June this year.
But the council has been quick to defend itself, claiming that the report “is a snapshot of the situation in 2002/03” and that rapid improvements have since taken place.
The council was accused by the commission of having no “vision for the future”, with no clear picture as to how its objectives would be achieved.
There was also criticism for the council's lack of educational work with the public. The report said: “There is no programme for waste awareness raising or education and very little work is carried out in, or with, the community.”
Struggling
Cumbria was also seen to be struggling in comparison to other authorities. The report indicated that the “performance generally compares unfavourably with other disposal authorities, particularly in the quantity of waste produced.”
Prospects for improvement were seen to be uncertain, with more weaknesses than strengths in the approach to change and improvement. According to the report “the council has been slow to tackle the major waste management issues and has failed to make decisions in a timely manner.”
Improvement
In a statement issued yesterday by Cumbria, the authority said that it had worked hard since the report to improve waste and recycling in the county. It claimed that a rapid improvement has taken place since the inspectors visited, with the recycling rate rising from 12.7% in 2002/03 to 17.7% in 2003/04. The authority noted that environment minister Elliot Morley, has congratulated them on the success they had achieved.
And, following a meeting on August 31, goals are now in place that aim to have 75% of Cumbria's rubbish being diverted away from landfill within the next ten years.
There is also a partnership planned with district councils in an attempt to further increase recycling in the area. The county council is paying the district council 1.2 million for recycling and composting waste. On top of this the county council has developed a 400,000 composting facility at Hespin Wood which allows 45,000 households to be provided with a green waste collection site.
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