Isles of Scilly blasted in nationwide waste audit

The unitary authority, which is comprised of six inhabited islands, was the only authority handed a ‘red flag' by the Oneplace website for its performance relating to waste. This means that auditors had “significant concerns about results and that future prospects are not being tackled adequately.”

The critical analysis of the Isles of Scilly came as nine other authorities were commended for their performance in relation to waste, recycling or climate change abatement.

The Oneplace website, which launched yesterday (December 9), was conceived as a joint project by six inspectorates to collate information on how well local authorities performed in certain areas as part of a Comprehensive Area Assessment.

This involves critically evaluating performance indicators selected in their local area agreements in July 2008 – including the three indicators governing waste (see letsrecycle.com story).

The Isles of Scilly's performance in relation to waste was criticised alongside sewerage and water, with all the areas being marked as “requiring investment”.

In the evaluation, the Oneplace website stated: “The amount of waste from households and business is rising despite some efforts to reduce it; little waste is recycled, the incinerator is 32 years old, needs upgrading and can't deal with the amount of waste produced by the local community. Bulky waste is being temporarily stored and is building up.”

The council faces a number of unique issues, as there is a lack of processing capacity and a need to send material to mainland England for further treatment, which requires further cost. It achieved a 17.52% recycling and composting rate for household waste in 2008/09, which was the second lowest household recycling rate in England (see letsrecycle.com story).

As acknowledged in the report, the council does operate a 3,700 tonnes-a-year capacity incinerator. However, the aging facility had to undergo an adaptation to its volt capacity in the Spring after its manufacturer said it could no longer support the older model.

The Isles of Scilly told letsrecycle.com that it was unable to comment on the critical evaluation at this time.

Green Flags

Despite the criticism of the Isles of Scilly, the Oneplace website did praise the efforts of Devon county council, Cambridgeshire county council, Peterborough city council, Birmingham city council, Worcestershire county council, the London borough of Bexley, the London borough of Barking and Dagenham and the London borough of Sutton.

The councils were commended across a range of factors relating to the environment and waste. Devon, Birmingham and Worcestershire received ‘green flags' for efforts to combat climate change, including cutting carbon emissions by reducing waste to landfill.

Barking and Dagenham was commended for its work on sustainability and attention was drawn to the establishment of Closed Loop Recycling at Rainham, which was hailed in the report as being the first of the “new ‘green' industries” to set-up in the former “heavy and dirty” industrial area of Dagenham Dock.

The Oneplace site also said that the work between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough was an example of “good joint working” as a means of encouraging recycling under the RECAP – Recycling Cambridgeshire And Peterborough – initiative. It also highlighted moves to introduce large-scale waste infrastructure in the region.

A ‘green flag' was handed to Bexley council for its work with the community boost its recycling rate, with special attention given to work with those in vulnerable circumstances and those who do not have English as a first language.