Campaigners protest as the council buys landfill permits
THE COUNCIL has serious questions to answer over its waste policy and its position on the Seghill landfill site, campaigners claim.
The calls come after North Tyneside Council was forced to buy 70,000 tonnes of “landfill allowances” from Westminster Council to avoid missing this year’s target for reducing buried waste.
Under strict Government targets local authorities are required to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by 75 per cent by 2010.
However, the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme allows authorities which are likely to miss the target to ‘buy’ landfill allowances from other authorities which are doing well.
And North Tyneside Council took this opportunity to buy 70,000 tonnes of allowances for 1.3million after realising it was likely to bury 74,000 tonnes of waste this year - missing its 59,000 target.
But it has also emerged a Sita UK energy to waste facility in Teesside has reduced the amount of waste it takes in from North Tyneside from 23,342 tonnes in 2001/02 to just 7,036 tonnes in 2004/05.
This is a drop of over 16,000 tonnes and campaigners opposed to an expansion of Sita UK’s landfill in Seghill want to know why.
Alan Fidler, a member of the No to Landfill Campaign, said: “The council could face fines of 10.5million for failing to meet the Government targets, so they don’t really have any choice but to buy these allowances.
“What’s interesting is the way the council is presenting this as a success and saying that buying allowances worth 1.3million is good planning. But it isn’t. It’s simply a smaller fine.
“Sita UK have told the council that the amount of waste being burned at its Teesside plant is likely to be reduced even further over the next few years, which will inevitably lead to an increase in the amount of waste going to landfills such as Seghill.
“If there was a problem with the machinery or other technical problems at the plant then it would be understandable.
“But the real issue is that North Tyneside is facing a shortfall in its target of 15,000 tonnes while Sita UK has reduced the amount of waste it burns by around 16,000.
“And because of this the rate payers have to pay 1.3million to buy landfill allowances from other authorities. Just what is going on?
“There needs to be serious questions answered about the contract between Sita UK and North Tyneside Council.
“Why are they being allowed to reduce the amount of waste being burned and increase the amount of waste being buried?
“North Tyneside is being pushed to one side so Sita can use its facilities for other contracts.”
A spokesperson for Sita UK said: “Despite everyone’s efforts to recycle more and divert waste away from landfill there is still a need to provide the landfill facility for the future.
“If the site at Seghill is not extended we may have to look at disposal options outside the county. This option is not sustainable and means that other communities outside the county will have to take the burden of the area’s waste.
“SITA and the council have a legal obligation to each other regarding the release of any information under our contract.
“We are currently in discussions with the council with a view to agreeing the information that can be disclosed, whether under the Freedom of Information Act or otherwise.
“Until this agreement has been reached we cannot comment further.”
A spokesperson for North Tyneside Council said: “Every planning application submitted to North Tyneside Council has to be considered independently by the planning committee on its own merits and on purely planning grounds.
“The planning committee is not permitted to take account of financial contracts between organisations - this would not be part of any planning process.
“The planning committee is made up of councillors elected to represent the community and will of course take the views of residents into account along with those of businesses and organisations such as the Environment Agency and Wildlife Trust.
“On a separate matter, buying landfill permits from Westminster Council is a measure - recognised by DEFRA - which helps the council meet its obligations to dispose of bio-degradable waste. But it is an interim process while a team of experts considers the long term solution to this important environmental issue for North Tyneside.”
Lindsay Perks, chairman for No To Landfill, said: “It is disgraceful that one of the real reasons for this planned extension, which will prolong the nuisance and use of an unsound and non-environmentally acceptable disposal option, is the consequence of North Tyneside Council and its contractor consistently failing to achieve reductions in landfill rates.”
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Weather for Whitley Bay
Thursday 24 May 2012
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