The county council's draft Local Waste Plan is to be debated by its Strategic Environmental and Public Safety Services Select Committee early next month, and had included possible new energy from waste plants at Warnham Brickworks, Portfield and the former Shoreham Cement Works.
The plan also proposed a landfill site at Freshfield Lane Brickworks and a site for inert waste at Keymer Tileworks. These are likely to be scrapped, although several other possible landfill sites are still under consideration.
Last year's consultation into the draft plan led to more than 3,700 representations covering more than 14,000 points. Almost half of these related to concerns about Freshfield Lane and the possibility of other sites being suitable for operations involving creating energy from waste.
Steve Waight, West Sussex's cabinet member for strategic planning and environment, who supports the recommendations, said: “In the case of Freshfield Lane the recommendation is based on the very latest waste forecasts, which show, at this stage, that the site is not required for landfill purposes.
“If our projections proved wrong and waste volume increases then we would need to think again. However the public's and businesses' full co-operation to increase recycling and support our waste minimisations schemes, I am optimistic we will not need this site,” said Mr Waight.
The other landfill proposed is at Keymer Tileworks site, but officers are now recommending that it should no longer be allocated in the plan either. This is because the increased emphasis on recycling of inert wastes, such as demolition and construction waste, and measures businesses in other sectors can take, the need for major landfill sites such as this one is much less certain.
Recycling
With the removal of various proposed incineration and landfill sites from the draft, Viridor – who signed a recycling contract with the council last month – are hoping to encourage waste minimisation schemes in the area through a several million pound investment in Household Recycling Centres. “The contract is aimed at delivering a recycling rate of 45% of all household waste by 2015 but we aim to exceed that,” said Mr Waight.
He continued, “The county council also has several innovative schemes to prevent waste ending up in the dustbin in the first place. We encourage people to use food digesters planted in the garden and have a cashback scheme for parents who use real nappies. We are planning to develop these schemes even further during the next 12 months.”
“I believe we have produced a plan that will meet our needs and those of the industry in dealing with all types of waste, not just household,” concluded Mr Waight.
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