North Kesteven district council, the only authority in the county collecting green waste mixed with glass, has had to divert the material to disposal because the only plant able to handle it has been put out of action.
”We have spare composting capacity in the county, but with the glass we cannot divert it. “
– Alan Freeman, Lincolnshire CC
The Mid UK Recycling plant in Caythorpe, near Grantham, was temporarily closed last week because the Agency received complaints from locals about odour problems (see letsrecycle.com story).
Alan Freeman, head of planning and conservation at Lincolnshire county council, told letsrecycle.com: “North Kesteven decided to go down a unique path and collect glass with green waste. The only facility that could handle it was the MRF and composting site at Caythorpe, but the Environment Agency had complaints about odour and shut the facility down.”
It is thought that up to 1,600 tonnes of garden waste and glass have been landfilled so far from the fortnightly wheeled bin collections, and residents have expressed their discontent to the local newspaper, the Lincolnshire Echo.
Robust
Lincolnshire county council had previously raised their concerns over North Kesteven's decision to opt for commingled glass and green waste, arguing that it would not be robust in the event of the kind of unforeseen circumstances that have now occurred.
Mr Freeman said: “The trouble is, that there's no other facility within the county that can take mixed glass and green waste. We have spare composting capacity in the county, but with the glass we cannot divert it.”
Mr Freeman added that unless the public was told not to put their bottles in their green waste bins there was “no way we can divert it”.
| Related links: |
Hopes in the county have been pinned on the Mid UK facility re-opening as soon as possible. The company has put in odour-controlling misting equipment and is awaiting another inspection by the Environment Agency.
North Kesteven had previously been recycling over 40% of household waste, comfortably surpassing statutory recycling targets for 2005/06.
Subscribe for free