Views sought on waste
Staffordshire people are to have a say about how best to tackle the rising tide of waste produced in the county. Staffordshire people are to have a say about how best to tackle the rising tide of waste produced in the county. Staffordshire County Council's waste chiefs have drafted in independent experts to run face-to-face discussion groups. People's views will then be used to help draw up an action plan to cope with what the waste teams have described as "the waste tsunami engulfing our society". The county council is joining with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to decide on its strategic waste plan for the next 10 years. They have announced a Zero Waste to Landfill approach, focusing on recycling and energy generation from left-over waste, while rejecting land-hungry and costly landfill. A public consultation has been under way for a month, and a further month of consultation is planned. Read the full story in the Express & Star.
Staffordshire County Council's waste chiefs have drafted in independent experts to run face-to-face discussion groups.
People's views will then be used to help draw up an action plan to cope with what the waste teams have described as "the waste tsunami engulfing our society". The county council is joining with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to decide on its strategic waste plan for the next 10 years.
They have announced a Zero Waste to Landfill approach, focusing on recycling and energy generation from left-over waste, while rejecting land-hungry and costly landfill.
A public consultation has been under way for a month, and a further month of consultation is planned.
Hundreds of responses have been pouring in from the www.staffswaste.info website and from leaflet distribution points and displays in the county.
Now a series of discussion groups are being organised to allow the waste team to get a detailed view.
The evening meetings will take place at various venues including Stafford Gatehouse Theatre on September 11, The Guildhall in Lichfield on September 4, Rugeley Leisure Centre on September 5 and Tamworth College on September 10.
Everyone is welcome to go along. To take part people should email events@ staffswaste2020.info or call the dedicated information line on 0845 300 6630.
County council cabinet member Councillor John Wakefield said: "We are all consumers and waste producers, so everyone has an interest in how we deal with the waste mountain.
"The people of Staffordshire produce more than 600,000 tonnes of household rubbish every year, and that's set to rise to 700,000 tonnes by 2020. We can't go on dumping this in landfill. It's a waste of energy, eats up the countryside and is increasingly expensive."
At the moment a third of Staffordshire's waste is recycled, a third sent to landfill and a third turned into energy at a special facility in Stoke on Trent.
The Energy from Waste facility, at Hanford, has been operating for the last decade, generating enough electricity to power 13,000 homes.
