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Your annual
household waste?
Ask what people don't like about Sydenham - Rubbish is
always near the top of the list. Getting rubbish off our streets, stopping the
fly-tippers and clearing abandoned cars get the headlines. But that only
accounts for a small part of Forest Hill's rubbish problem. It is what happens
next that we should be really worrying about....
Most of Sydenham's rubbish goes to the huge incinerator
beside the railway line north of New Cross. Depending on your view - this may
be a good thing - 90% is recycled into heat & electricity and metals are
recovered and resold. It saves huge amounts of landfill that poisons and
sterilises large areas of countryside.
On the other hand the incineration plant is subsidised
by being paid the 'non-fossil' rate for its electricity when it produces the
same greenhouse gas problem as fossil fuel generation. The dangers from
incinerating heavy metals to produce hazardous gases are always present. While
the industry claims pollution levels are within limits the jury is still out on
proving these limits are acceptably safe. Lewisham LibDems & Green Parties
are adamantly anti-incineration and supported the Greenpeace demonstration that
closed the New Cross plant for four days in 2002.
Another criticism is that because of the New Cross
incinerator our council has not focussed on other methods of recycling our
rubbish and is way down the league. EU regulation is tightening up too. So
Lewisham, like many other councils, are in a bit of a panic to get their act in
order. Which may explain why we have received a press release
launching:
THE LEWISHAM STREET RECYCLING
CHAMPIONSHIP
This is a campaign to increase the amount of stuff we
switch from our wheelie-bins to green boxes and the local recycle dumps.
Lewisham want you to nominate your Sydenham street as a recycling champion.
This is how it works:
The Council’s recycling team will do a survey to
find out how many people currently use the kerbside recycling service in the
nominated streets, or to find out how many tonnes of recycling are currently
collected from the mini recycling centre in the complexes. This will be
repeated three months later to measure improvements in recycling levels. The
recycling team will help those taking part by providing information and a
toolkit to help them make a difference.
Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham said: “Many
Lewisham residents are recycling and that’s great, but we need everyone to
join in. Many people recycle because friends, neighbours or family members
encourage them. This competition is a way of getting local people to spread the
word that recycling is really important for the environment and that every
person in their street or complex counts. A typical household can throw away as
much as one tonne of rubbish every year.”
The press release did not mention a prize for the
winner - a recyclable cycle perhaps? If you want to know more or enter your
street contact Beth Sowden on 020 8314 2053.
RESOURCES
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sdg 02/06/05 |
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