The county produces over 277,000 tonnes of municipal waste every year, but while 25% of this is recycled, about 198,000 tonnes still goes to landfill.
 A new incinerator is already on the cards for East Sussex |
East Sussex already has plans for an energy-from-waste incinerator under its 25-year waste contract with Veolia Environmental Services. This week's consultation should determine the nature of further waste treatment facilities.
A draft municipal waste management strategy has been prepared by consultants ERM and made available on the county council's website. Leaflets and a survey are also being issued to local libraries.
A final draft strategy and plan is expected to be published in the summer of 2007.
Targets
The targets put forward within the strategy include raising recycling rates to 33% by 2010 and 40% by 2015. Councils in East Sussex will seek to reduce waste growth rates from 2.7% to 2.4% by 2009, partly through waste minimisation initiatives.
The county has also proposed recovery rate targets – covering both the recycling and energy-from-waste recovery of waste – rising from 45% of waste by 2008, to 50% by 2010 and 67% by 2015.
Under East Sussex and Brighton & Hove council's contract with Veolia Environmental Services, a planning application has already been submitted to build a 210,000-tonne capacity incinerator in Newhaven to begin operations in 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).
A county council spokeswoman explained to letsrecycle.com today that the incinerator had been the subject of an earlier consultation along with Brighton.
She said: “In our waste contract, because waste is going to grow, we have left room for another facility on top of the recovery plant. That is what this consultation is about. This could include energy-from-waste or some other form of treatment.”
The draft strategy suggests that the additional treatment plant will be needed from 2012 to meet landfill targets.
Opposition
Residents in East Sussex are being asked their views on energy-from-waste and the treatment of waste that cannot be recycled in a questionnaire being issued as part of the consultation process.
They are also being asked their views on extending recycling collections, collecting more materials and carrying out waste minimisation and awareness initiatives.
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The county's districts and boroughs have already had their say on the strategy, the East Sussex spokeswoman said. Among the responses from districts came firm opposition to the energy-from-waste component of the plans from Lewes district council.
The council said: “Energy-from-waste by incineration is the wrong strategy. This is because the council feels that incineration locks the area into long-term contracts which require large amounts of waste to be transported around the county to a central plant, and because it can also limit achievement of high levels of recycling.”
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