Lib Dems welcome Tory U-turn on borough-wide plastics recycling

Guildford Borough Council's Executive is due to discuss extending kerbside collection of plastic for recycling across the borough at its next meeting on 22 June. Council officers propose adapting the 'Kerbsider' recycling vehicles with machinery to crush and compact plastic, so that plastic bottles can be put out in the green recycling boxes as well as glass and cans. The predicted start-up costs would be £218,000, with the whole borough covered by March 2007. The Conservative Lead Councillor for the Environment has said the scheme is likely to be approved.

Liberal Democrat councillors point out that a Lib Dem proposal for borough-wide collection of plastic was voted down by the Conservatives only last February, at the Council's budget meeting. Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Cllr Liz Hogger says "I welcome this latest Tory U-turn on recycling policy, though I am puzzled about why they flatly rejected our similar proposal for borough-wide plastic collection just five months ago. Presumably it was a case of 'not invented here'. Recycling rates have been consistently under target for the last two years, so let's hope plastic will give the figures a much-needed boost."

Meanwhile residents taking part in the trial plastic collection scheme in parts of Merrow, Burpham, Christchuch, Slyfield and Jacobs Well have complained to their Lib Dem councillors that they can only recycle plastic bottles, and not other sorts of plastic like yoghurt pots and margarine tubs. Cllr Hogger says "There's a huge amount still to do if the Council is to meet its target of 60% of waste recycled or composted by 2010. The Council needs to find new markets so that we can collect all types of plastic - far too much of it will still go in the black bags destined for landfill. Then we must start serious planning for the collection of kitchen waste for composting - it's particularly important to get that out of landfill as it generates methane, one of the major greenhouse gases."