Weather
Appliances will pile up
From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Tuesday 25th Jun 2002.
JUST as Swindon Council gets to grips with the great fridge fiasco, it could soon be hit by a new domestic appliance headache.
A barrage of European Union directives are on their way that will pose huge challenges for local authorities around the country.
All products that contain electrical circuits, from computers to musical birthday cards, will soon have to be recycled.
And with critics worried that Britain is unprepared for the changes, the warning is that the taxpayer could end up paying.
The Government's environment minister, Michael Meacher, was last week blamed by a committee of MPs for the way he failed to acknowledge the impact a EU directive on the safe disposal of fridges would have.
Since the law came into force in January this year, councils have witnessed fridge mountains piling up, because the country had no machinery to recycle them properly. There are now nearly 3,000 fridges being stored in Swindon, which have been moved from the Barnfield Road depot to a secret site for fear of vandal attacks.
Swindon Council is working on a solution to the problem.
It is negotiating with a German firm to bring specialist disposal equipment to the town, which would create one of just five strategic centres in the country that will be able to dispose of fridges a move that could earn revenue from other councils.
The fridge fiasco has cost the country £40 million, but more directives are on their way that could hit councils even harder.
The British Government is already signed up to the End of Life Vehicle directive, that will increase the cost of disposal of abandoned cars from £25 to around £200 per car.
Another directive orders that, from next month, television sets must be treated as hazardous waste and be fully recycled from next year. In two years time, all other electrical and electronic equipment will follow suit.
And to top it off, new draft legislation suggests that towns with populations above 100,000 will, by 2006, have to make separate collections for garden waste, which could double the cost of refuse collection.
Swindon Council welcomes the intentions behind the green initiatives, but is concerned about who will foot the bill.
Geoff Davies, team leader for waste management at the council, said: "The capacity of Europe to keep producing these directives is to be applauded, as we are right behind the recycling agenda.
"But they will pose some incredible challenges and costs for this country and a complete culture change will be needed to meet the targets set. We can always come up with solutions for these challenges if given the resources, but its unclear where those resources will come from."
Swindon-based MEP for the South West, Caroline Jackson, who chairs the European Parliament's environment committee, said: "What concerns me about Swindon is who is going to pay for the changes and whether the town can react quick enough. If we're not careful, computers and TVs are going to join fridges and cars in the hedge."
Local Advertisers
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
