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Sir Leon Scaremongers over Waste Law
27 January 1997
Statements by Sir Leon Brittan [1] on a new proposed European waste law are deliberately misleading and scaremongering said Friends of the Earth today. Sir Leon is reported to have said the new Directive - which is aiming to help tackle climate change gases from rubbish tips - would require the building of a network of costly incinerators. But the reality is that the Directive is promoting increased recycling and composting of waste, a cheap and more environmentally positive solution [2].
The draft law - which is being considered by European Commissioners' top advisers this week - puts a limit on the amount of organic waste that can be landfilled. As organic waste breaks down in landfill sites it releases methane - a potent greenhouse gas - as well as causing water pollution. The draft law says that organic waste should be separated from other waste by householders [3]. The organic waste could then be composted and most of the other waste recycled.
Mike Childs, Senior Waste Campaigner of Friends of the Earth said:
" Sir Leon is scaremongering if he suggests that Europe are trying to force us to build a network of polluting incinerators. Instead the European Commission is suggesting that we help tackle waste & climate change by following the lead of the USA and a number of European countries by increasing composting and recycling. We are astonished that Sir Leon wants to block this proposal after all the strong words the UK Government has said about climate change and pollution."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] Press Association report entitled 'EU rubbish row still deadlocked'.
[2] Various reports have suggested that the costs of separately collecting different types of waste from households would be about the price of a packet of crisps per house per week.
[3] The draft Directive states that it "aims at encouraging the separate collection of household waste"
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Dec 2008
