In November I attended a 2-day consultation process on developing a strategy for dealing with Greater Manchester’s waste. It is early days as the strategy won’t be published until 2010 but it’s important to input our ideas and desires at the beginning. Trafford is one of ten local authorities involved in this joint project.

Present were representatives from local business, the waste industry, local government, the Environment Agency and a few members of the public.

The ideas of our group were encouragingly ‘Green’. In fact the ‘waste hierarchy’, which is accepted practise, is good – with priorities of:
1. Minimising
2. Re-using
3. Recycling
4. Recovering energy (or incineration with a more palatable name)

All before
5. Landfill

I have problems with number four (see Trafford Green Party’s policy on waste) but otherwise would agree wholeheartedly. Currently most of Greater Manchester’s waste is landfilled outside the area with fairly low levels of recycling (though this is improving with the threat of penalty landfill taxes looming) so we have a long way to go.

Whilst I was pleasantly surprised by the principles held at the outset there was negativity about what could be achieved leading to a disappointing fallback position of providing incineration to cope with waste we had failed to divert in any other way. Reducing the amount of waste produced – supposedly number one priority - hardly got a look in !

I hope my pleas for local, small scale and flexible solutions get considered and that we don’t end up with a giant Waste Park, including incinerator, in Trafford Park …..

Bridget Green

For further information visit www.gmwastedpd.co.uk