Memorandum by London Councils (RC 59)
I have only recently become aware of your Inquiry
into refuse collection. Had I known at the appropriate time I
would certainly have asked London Councils to submit evidence
on this important issue. I apologise, therefore, for writing to
you now, well after the date you wished to receive evidence, but
having seen a copy of the written evidence by the Mayor of London
to your inquiry I am concerned that it paints a misleading picture
of the activities of London boroughs in relation to non-household
waste. This evidence seems to me to represent such a distorted
view that I thought you would wish to hear our response to the
allegations made by the Mayor and his advisers.
London Councils represents all 32 London boroughs,
the City of London, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. London Councils
fights for more resources for London and for a fair deal for London's
33 councils.
The Transport and Environment Committee, TEC,
provides a range of high quality operational services. TEC aims
to ensure that London boroughs' concerns and best practice are
taken fully into account in the development and implementation
of the whole range of transport, environment and planning policies
generated by Government departments, the European Union, and the
Mayor of London. The committee deals with a wide array of issues,
including waste, climate change, air quality, water resources,
bio diversity, nature conservation, licensing and public protection.
1. London Councils support the direction
of European and national policy and legislation to reduce landfilling,
improve alternative disposal methods and increase recycling. The
financial implications of not achieving the statutory EU Landfill
Directive targets means that reducing the amount of biodegradable
municipal waste being sent to landfill is at the top of the local
authority environmental agenda. London Councils' view, therefore,
is that it is entirely disingenuous of the Mayor of London to
imply otherwise, as in paragraph 1 of his memorandum and in response
to oral question 91, that local authorities are seeking to exploit
loopholes or disregard the rules relating to the Landfill Allowance
Trading Scheme (LATS).
2. Paragraph 18 of the Mayor's memorandum
and in response to oral question 93 complains that four boroughs
have reduced the amount of commercial waste they collect by 108,368
tonnes over a five year period (2000-01 to 2005-06). He then suggests
that this waste is probably still going to landfill but by private
sector waste companies. Appendix A (Total waste managed at sites
accepting municipal waste from London) to the Mayor's memorandum
shows the amount of waste going to the landfill sites used by
London increased by 1.4m tonnes between 2003 and 2005. It is unreasonable
to link these pieces of information and imply that London boroughs
are doing something wrong (paragraph 18 of the memorandum) or
that London needs a single waste authority to sort this out (paragraph
7 of the memorandum and oral evidence response to question 105).
3. The figures quoted by the Mayor (Appendix
A) are, in any case, misleading as the totals for landfill that
he quotes are simply the total amount of waste going into landfill
sites that accept municipal waste. Some of this will be municipal
and some commercial, but this is unspecified. Some may be commercial
waste diverted from landfill sites that previously did not take
municipal waste. It is impossible, from these figures alone, to
draw any conclusions about the total amount of commercial waste
going to landfill.
4. Even if the Mayor's figures were accurate,
the increase in commercial waste sent to landfill is far greater
than any reductions in the amount of commercial waste collected
by London's boroughs. It is, therefore, in London Councils' view,
entirely wrong to link the two together.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
ACT 1990: PART
II WASTE ON
LAND: SECTION
45 COLLECTION, DISPOSAL
OR TREATMENT
OF CONTROLLED
WASTE
5. Government policy over the last 15 years
or more has been to allow commercial organisations the freedom
to choose who will collect and dispose of their waste, with local
authorities providing a fall back collection and disposal operation
of last resort. Those local authorities listed by the Mayor (paragraph
18 and in response to oral questions 91 to 94) that have seen
commercial waste collection moved to the private sector are, thus,
only following Government policy.
6. In paragraph 15 and in response to oral
question 91 the Mayor implies some London boroughs have recently
sold off their trade waste portfolios. Any commercial waste collected
by private sector organisations on behalf of local authorities
is still municipal waste and must be reported as such. Only commercial
waste that is collected entirely independently of local authorities
is outside the scope of LATS and boroughs have no control over
this waste. Local authorities are fully aware that if they divest
their commercial waste services they must be careful to ensure
that they are meeting their statutory duty to provide a commercial
waste service if requested. They must also correctly report municipal
waste arisings.
7. The Environment Agency monitors compliance
with LATS and will inform Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (Defra) if there are problems with local authority
reporting of non-household waste. We understand that Defra have
said that they have not been informed by the Agency that the local
authorities cited in the Mayor's evidence have been reporting
inaccurately.
CONCLUSION
8. In considering this matter, London Councils
hopes the Committee will recognise that local authorities in London
have operated entirely within the legislation. In 2005/06 (the
latest year for which figures are available) 21% of the waste
collected by London local authorities was non-household compared
to 11% in England as a whole. This suggests that London boroughs
are collecting relatively more commercial waste than authorities
outside London. London Councils view, therefore, is that it is
an entirely spurious argument by the Mayor to use these figures
to suggest that boroughs are not doing their job properly and
that a Mayor led Single Waste Authority is the answer.
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