The Problem with Landfill
Most of the material from Green Bins is sent to a facility near Cambridge, where it passes along a conveyor belt, and those materials that can be identified are extracted. Examples are plastic, cardboard, paper, metals, and glass. The cleaner it is, the more likely it can be recycled, but most of this ends up in a hole in the ground. The resulting material gradually decomposes, gives off methane (a greenhouse gas), and must be kept away from the water table.
Other alternatives to landfill:
Although Incineration raises concerns as the spectre of black emissions polluting the air – things have moved on in recent years. Emissions are cleaned up, and the benefits of combined heat and power are already enjoyed by European countries such as Sweden, where 8% of total heating energy comes from incinerating waste.
In 2023 we will no longer be able to bury soft furnishings, beanbags, and the old three-piece settee/sofa. These products burn well, and the facility in Peterborough made millions of pounds by burning similar stuff.
This is where Councils need to join up the dots better. We don’t have an incinerator in Fenland, and as I write, there is no agreement that Fenland can use the Peterborough facility. This did not stop Cambridgeshire County Council from announcing that our recycling centres will no longer take ‘upholstered domestic seating, such as sofas, cushions, chairs, or beanbags’. They failed to advise what the procedure should be if your new furniture arrives and you are left with the old stuff to get rid of other than contracting someone to dispose of it correctly.
In Conclusion:
I support incineration because landfill waste can be reduced by up to 95%, reducing transport costs and emissions. It eliminates methane emissions and provides valuable energy.
We need a simple, inexpensive service that promotes good practice and helps residents. We also have a responsibility to listen when the seller of new products asks whether we require help disposing of the things being replaced because ownership remains with us until it has been appropriately disposed of.