Archived press release

New London Waste Plan Good for Jobs and Environment

22 July 1997

Friends of the Earth today welcomed the gauntlet thrown down on recycling by London to the rest of the country. London planners announced that, rather than continuing to squander valuable resources by burying or burning them, they would aim to recycle 70%of waste instead.[1] This is one of the highest targets in the country. They are also proposing a moratorium on new incinerator plants over a certain size, for five years.Friends of the Earth welcomed the proposals, but believes that a complete moratorium on new incinerators is necessary.

As well as giving environmental benefits, the proposals will benefit London economically,because they will encourage local reprocessing industries for materials such as paper,plastic and glass. Recycling and reprocessing can create about four times as many jobs as incineration, and about ten times as many as landfill.[2]

Anna Thomas, Waste Campaigner of Friends of the Earth said:

"We need to use resources efficiently, rather than burying them to let poisons out into our water, or sending them up in toxic smoke. Recycling has social as well as environmental benefits and should be a high priority in all our cities.

We hope that London will finish what it has started and, in the final Guidance,announce a complete 5 year ban on new incinerators. That would give just the necessary breathing space for recycling to really come into its own"

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] London Planning Advisory Committee's Draft Supplementary Planning Advice on Waste was approved by its Executive sub-committee today. The report will form the basis of consultation later in the year.

[2] Jobs per 1 million tonnes of waste processed, New York City

Type of waste disposal Number of jobs
Landfill 40-60
Incinerators 100-290
Mixed waste composting 200-300
Recycling 400-590

Source: Renner, M, 1991 - Jobs in a Sustainable Economy, Worldwatch Paper 104,Washington DC, Worldwatch Institute. Cited in Working Future? - Jobs and the Environment, Friends of the Earth 1994

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