DURING 2009 two thousand people signed petitions to save Monmouthshire's 'black box' recycling service, and a significant body of evidence was assembled to show the advantages of real 'closed loop' recycling over the more expensive and less climate friendly 'co-mingled sack' scheme.
For reasons unknown, Monmouthshire County Council ignored evidence from recycling experts at WRAP, the Welsh Assembly, Friends of the Earth, and the British Glass Manufacturers' Confederation. Instead, MCC nailed together its own error-ridden waste strategy report without either public consultation or proper consideration of the numerous published papers that compare kerbside sorted services against co-mingled schemes.
Somehow, MCC's flawed and hastily prepared waste strategy report managed to convince enough of our county councillors that Monmouthshire's highly successful 'black box' service should be replaced by the inferior 'twin sack' co-mingled system.
MCC has published many laudable council policies relating to sustainability; closed loop recycling; climate change; peak oil; putting the Citizen at the Centre; and public engagement. But if these policies are not being used to guide the decisions and actions of our council officials, what purpose do they serve? – Steve Rawlings, The Paddock, Chepstow.