The growing amount of waste produced in East Sussex is a huge issue and critical for local people. A recent survey conducted by East Sussex County Council showed that 75% of respondents care about waste and recycling.
The Council's record is very strong – 5% above government national targets- but the message is that everyone in the county should work together to do more because recycling at current levels cannot tackle the rapidly growing waste mountain.
Only forward thinking, massive investment and local support will get the rubbish moving and treated so that the environment can be preserved. Local people have a vital role to play in this process.
To get this message across, Councillor Matthew Lock, Member responsible for Transport and Environment has been touring the county talking to people at waste facilities across the county including Hastings, Crowborough, Eastbourne and Heathfield.
He said: "Everyone must start to take responsibility for their rubbish. It just is not good enough to put your rubbish out to be collected and forget about where it goes. Disused landfill sites already cost the taxpayer £750,000 a year because the Council has to keep them environmentally safe and burn off gases and pollutants for up to 60 years or more – and these costs could rise.
"Out of sight, out of mind is no longer an excuse. Everyone must play their part in reducing the rubbish mountain."
The combination of local people doing more recycling, alongside the County Council's forward-thinking programme of waste processing, means that the amount currently going to landfill could be reduced by over 85%.
Councillor Lock continued. "A huge amount still goes to landfill – and this is a dwindling option due to rocketing costs and lack of space. In fact, by 2008 we will no longer have any landfill. With the government changing the goalposts constantly, we could face fines of around £10million over the next five years – which all has to be met by the taxpayer. I want to see residents, local councils and Onyx all totally committed to working with us to tackle this issue. It impacts us all."
Notes to editors
East Sussex County Council, Brighton & Hove City Council and Onyx signed a 25 year contract in 2003 which is called an Integrated Waste Services Management Contract. It will see a series of new waste facilities rolled out across the county over the next few years so that we can deal with our waste within the county. These will include new household waste recycling sites, materials recovery, energy from waste and composting.
Reference:
04/372/TH
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