Waste Reduction Strategy launched

25th March 2007

The Sheffield Green Party today publishes a report on what they think the Council’s strategy should be on handling waste. This follows their Budget amendment, which included a proposal to invest £1m in projects to reduce, repair and recycle consumables, thereby saving money in the long term.

For full report in pdf format click here

Cllr Bernard Little says, “The incinerator at Bernard Road has been promoted as a green solution to waste because it produces heat and power, but it’s not as simple as that. The incinerator produces 8 tonnes of
greenhouse gas every hour, making it the second biggest single generator of carbon dioxide in the city. Sheffield Green Party understands that the Council cannot just close the incinerator down. But we should use incineration as a last resort, and reduce the amount we send to landfill - currently 42,000 tonnes each year.

“The best way to cut greenhouse gases is to reduce the amount of waste being produced and recycle more of it. Reducing, repairing, re-using and recycling can help us reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.”

The report puts forward a sustainable waste management stategy. It says the Council should:

• Publicise how people can minimise waste, e.g. re-using drinks bottles and planning shopping to cut down on food waste
• Expand kerbside collections to include more types of waste, including aluminium cans and kitchen waste
• Help local business see the benefits of reducing waste and lobby all businesses to use less packaging, for example by selling re-usable `bags for life'
• Make links with schools, PCT, faith and community groups to support projects and campaigns to minimise waste
• Step up the use of real nappies and keep promoting home and community composting
• Promote re-use and repair by advertising projects such as the freecycle website, negotiating with Veolia to use Dumpit sites as salvage centres and establishing better contacts with groups offereing re-use and repair, like Cot-Age.

Cllr Jillian Creasy added, "Reducing, repairing, reusing, and recycling can save the local environment as well as the planet . It also saves money and resources. The council has the opportunity to take the lead on this issue and make Sheffield a truly green city."

ENDS

For more information, contact Kathy Aston , Press Officer;

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