Recycling in the former Congleton Borough - letter to Congleton Chronicle

9.18.01pm GMT Wed 25th Nov 2009

Dear Sir,

Your readers might be interested to learn that Cheshire East is still transporting all the recyclable waste except glass from the former Congleton Borough to Milton Keynes for processing. What was supposed to be a temporary measure has been going on for over three months. When will they try harder to deal with this resource more sustainably?

The increased emissions caused by moving all this waste are hard to justify. Financial considerations are probably the motivation behind transporting it so far. They should not however be the main consideration. A full analysis is required to ensure that the net gain in environmental terms is positive.

Our treatment of organic waste is also causing me concern. Is Cheshire East Council considering anaerobic digestion rather than composting or incinerating it? This converts it to methane that can generate electricity and heat in a locally based combined heat and power plant. If it were combined with retail and farm waste the advantages would be enormous.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Peter Hirst

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Congleton

Rushton Drive

Middlewich