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Putting out rubbish
• COUNCILLOR Lucy Watt claims the Green Party has been “misleading the public” over Islington’s recycling turning up in Indonesia (Lib Dems ‘in denial’ over waste dumping, November 2).
But all we have done is to point to the BBC’s investigation, which found Islington’s recycling dumped in Indonesia, and the recent court case in which the council’s former contractor, Grosvenor, pleaded guilty to exporting waste to the developing world.
The council has brought this situation on itself by introducing a “cheap and cheerful” form of collection where all recycling is co-mingled – in other words, thrown together in a single collection truck.
This means the recycling has less commercial value and the most common market for it is in the developing world. Once the recycling leaves our shores it is extremely difficult to keep a track of it.
Hence the ever-present risk that the most valuable elements, such as cans and plastic bottles, will be picked out and the rest either burned or dumped. If the council wants to run such a system, rather than dealing with recycling locally, then it ought to be extremely careful about checking on the final destination of each consignment.
Instead, Cllr Watt pretends the problem does not exist and attacks anyone – BBC, the Environment Agency or the Greens – who reminds the council of its legal or moral duties.
Islington now has new waste contractors so we hope no more shipments go astray. For now, our message to residents who might find all this baffling is to please keep recycling but also to ignore the rubbish put out on the subject by Cllr Watt.
James Humphreys
Islington Green Party
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