Call for greener waste system to be implemented.
Campaigners from Birmingham Friends of the Earth have launched their new campaign Waste Isn’t Rubbish with a stunt outside Birmingham Council House. Residents from the city queued with kitchen caddies to recycle their food waste outside the Council House.
The Waste Isn’t Rubbish campaign is calling on Birmingham City Council to implement a greener waste system that makes best use of the city’s resources locally. This includes:
– Making it easier for people to recycle food waste by providing a food waste collection and more support for home and community composting.
– Making it easier for people to recycle more types of waste from home.
– Using local companies to process the waste.
– Birmingham City Council is consulting on its new waste strategy this year and campaigners hope to push for as green a waste system as possible, which would mean the Tyseley Incinerator is no longer needed.
Libby Harris, Waste Campaigner at Birmingham Friends of the Earth said: “Waste is a rubbish fuel. We need a waste system that makes best use of the resources in all our waste, instead of letting them go up in smoke in an outdated incinerator. With the Council contract with Veolia up in 2019, now is the perfect time for the council to rethink its waste strategy.
“41% of the residual waste sent to the incinerator is organic matter. By taking food out of the waste stream, and sending the waste food to an anaerobic digester, it becomes a cleaner, renewable energy source.
“Seperating out organic matter means we can make better use of all the resources in our waste. This would mean the incinerator is no longer needed, leading to a reduction in CO2 emissions. As well as a food waste collection and better recycling facilities, priority should be given to smaller, local waste companies, creating more jobs and ensuring the value of Birmingham’s waste stays in the city.”