Victory for common sense

Labour has welcomed the dramatic turnaround by the Conservatives on recycling for people in flats.

After having pushed the Conservatives for months, the Conservative have finally agreed to extend the recycling service to residents who live in flats with a new scheme to be introduced in November.

But Labour’s spokesperson on recycling, Cllr Bassam Mahfouz says it has been a tough fight to get them to see sense and after a rushed decision to step up to the plate on this issue, the devil will be in the detail of how the scheme is delivered to residents.

“For months the Conservatives have been dragging their heels on recycling in flats.  There were trials here two years ago but that died a death until we resurrected it.  Next year they would have been forced by the Labour Government to extend the recycling service to flats and now at the last minute they are rushing through plans to start a scheme in late November”, said Labour’s Bassam Mahfouz.

Full details of the Conservative scheme have not been published but there will be a report to the Conservative dominated Cabinet in September leaving precious little time for consulting the public.

 “I welcome the scheme because something is always better than nothing but I am adamant that this rushed through policy will leave residents in flats with a raw deal.  The devil is in the detail of how this will be delivered for residents and whatever is brough out, has to be tailored to the needs of residents.

“The experts on this at WRAP [Waste and Resources Action Programme] estimate that communal recycling would deliver 1.75 kg of recycled materials per household per week compared with 1.83 Kg from door to door flats schemes and 2.52 Kg from schemes with collection points on each floor.  So, according to this, what little details of the plans released shows that this policy is more about political positioning than really supporting the cause of recycling”, said Labour’s Cllr Mahfouz.

The guidance on flats recycling published by WRAP on 24 June 2009 calls on councils to ensure that flats schemes take into account the specific requirements of the flats (different because of size, access, geography etc) and NOT to use a 'one size fits all' approach.  The residents of this Borough need guarantees that their views will be taken into account and are not just at the brunt of a publicity stunt.