Andy D'Agorne

It seems hard to believe that people in Africa in the main dont have the benefit of solar power to light their homes and power their radios and TV's. Here's some information from 'Solar Aid' - more details can be found at

http://solar-aid.org/project_lighting_malawian_homes/

The problem with batteries

This is a picture of discarded single use batteries, which are used throughout Africa to power radios and are then abandoned, causing pollution. One of the benefits of our microsolar work is that people can now power their radios using solar chargers, which means no more abandoned batteries.

Nick

In October City of York council agreed to press ahead with a deal to enter a partnership with N Yorkshire CC for a 25 yr PFI  funded waste treatment plant. So far no site or technology has been decided, although this should move a step closer in 2008. Recycling rates have increased to 40%, although the roll out of kerbside collection has slowed as the terraced streets and flats (13% of households) present more difficulties. However by Dec 2010 government legislation requires all properties to have at least two categories of recyclates collected - so why is it that our target has been set at only 46.3%for 2009/10 and the same for the following year? Could it be that recycling facilities will be cut once the new treatment plant comes on stream, demanding more of our rubbish to burn? What is the economics of separating out rubbish by hand when there will be a shiney new plant that takes everything and burns anything combustible?

If we are to have a treatment plant, the site is likely to be remote from major centres like York, where the waste heat could most efficiently be used. Sheffield, for all its lack of recycling, does at least have the incinerator close to the city centre providing heat through underground pipes to offices, shops and a leisure centre. So will the villagers of Tockwith welcome the idea of waste heat and 'Energy from Waste'? I wonder!

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Posted by: andydag

At the last full council meeting before the elections this week, the Greens proposed a motion calling for an explicit commitment to exclude 'Energy from Waste' - incineration - from any future waste plan for the City of York. The Liberal Democrats at least had the decency, or more likely political nouse not to use the  'refer to executive without debate' mechanism but to put their own amendment to water it down to simply state the 'preferred treatment option of mechanical and biological treatment'. What was a surprise was seeing that denizen of open government and critic of the new constitution Cllr Dave Merrett standing up on the Labour benches to propose that the proposal be referred to the Executive for an officer report. This is in spite of the fact that just such an 'officer report' updating the Executive on the latest situation with the Waste PFI bid was considered by the Executive on Mar 27th (and, as would normally be the case, by the Shadow Executive the week before!) There was a little confusion on the top table - something unscripted happening that the whips had not had the opportunity to plan for- but then the proposal to refer was defeated. It was then the turn of at least one Labour councillor to have to whisper to their Leader to check how they should vote before they abstained, on both the amendment and the amended motion, so we still dont know what 'Local Labour' as opposed to Tony Blair's Labour think to the idea. Meanwhile the Lib Dems entertained themselves by referring to a quote from a Sheffield Green councillor supposedly 'supporting incineration' - she had of course been mis-quoted and lampooned by the Sheffield Lib Dems who actually signed the £35m contract for the new incinerator in Sheffield that was built to replace the more polluting existing one closed in the late 1990's as uneconomic to bring up to stricter EU emission standards. Sheffield extracts some recyclates at the plant (steel, glass etc) but only offers a monthly 'blue bin' collection of paper and card for householders.   If you want to read more about local opposition to incineration, see other entries in this section or visit www.noburner.co.uk

Wording of our motion

"This council confirms its opposition to any form of incineration of York's municipal waste. Key concerns include:

1. The effect of emissions on human health and the environment;

2. The fact that incineration contracts with private companies create a demand for waste

This detracts from the objective to reduce the amount of waste that is produced, and the secondary objective to recycle as large a proportion of the remainder as is possible and efficient in terms of environmental impact.

The council also opposes any other form of treatment involving burning (such as forms of mechanical biological treatment that produce refuse derived fuel for burning), as the concerns expressed above apply in each case.

This council notes the significant achievements of the city in increasing recycling, through the work of the council and community groups such as the Friends of St. Nicholas Fields and the York Recycling Network. The council will support the work of such groups wherever possible.

The council notes that measures on waste reduction are almost always more financially efficient than the construction of large treatment facilities, and that recycling creates more jobs than incineration.

The council further notes that as recycling rates increase around the country, incineration is falling further out of favour. Norwich City Council has recently confirmed its opposition to incineration, joining the councils of Essex, Lancashire, Bath and Milton Keynes, among others. Furthermore, this council calls upon the Government to introduce legislation to reduce waste at source by strict regulation and taxes on packaging."

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Posted by: andydag

Press release issued 14/2/07: Published in The Press 17/02/07

NEWS RELEASE - YORK GREEN PARTY

Incineration 'Greenwash' attempt fails


MEPs yesterday voted to reject attempts to rebrand waste incineration as an
environmentally friendly alternative to landfill. As Green Party Councillor
Andy D'Agorne notes, this will have implications all over the continent -
including the City of York's own waste strategy.

The City of York Council is in partnership with other councils of North
Yorkshire to devise a plan for the county's waste over the next twenty
years. Whilst York Councillors ruled out an incinerator in York, the option
of sending York's waste to an incinerator elsewhere in the county is very
much on the table. Yesterday's vote on the EU Waste Framework Directive has
brought us one step closer to an enlightened, low-carbon waste strategy for
the twenty-first century, says Green Party Councillor Andy D'Agorne -

"Instead of finding convenient short-term ways of dealing with the problem,
Euro-MPs have agreed with the Green Party line that we must all stop
producing so much waste, and we should not promote anything that is likely
to reduce the amount we can reuse or recycle. This is the case in the City
of York and across the EU."

The Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas, who visited York last week, was the
'shadow rapporteur' for the subject. She said, "The decision by MEPs to
reject an amendment which would have reclassified waste incineration is an
important step for the environment. Re-branding incineration as a means of
recovery rather than waste disposal could create the impression that burning
our rubbish is environmentally friendly, which it clearly is not. "

The average European is responsible for 534 kilos of household waste per
year. MEPs have called for the stabilisation of the levels of waste
generation by 2012, based on 2008 levels. In York waste levels are already
going down due to increasing levels of recycling. "This underlines the total
pointlessness of building an incinerator. We can deal with our waste
better - and more cheaply - without one," said Councillor D'Agorne.
-------
York Green Party

The Lib Dems have realised that they cant carry on with the situation where Lib Dem wards on the west of the city have a kerbside cardboard collection service while much of the rest of the city does not. They have also recognised that it doesnt make much sense to go back to weekly collections for a few winter months before resuming the alternate weekly collections. Bringing the two changes together in early 2007 will hopefully mean that they avoid the bins being an election issue next Spring!

It is still a pitty howeverthat there seems to be no progress on working out a recycling collection service for the many new flats particularly near the city centre. These are precisely the younger people who might not have cars and have a positive attitude to doing their bit for the environment, yet the places have been designed with little or no thought of storing of paper tins and glass etc for recycling.