Following more local press debate and a shocking Channel 4 Dispatches progamme we speak out... again

It is right to question the so-called “success” of recycling (article and letters on 20^th and 27^th October). 

 

Whilst we positively welcome Brent’s aim to increase recycling, we have serious doubts about the methods they’ve adopted.

 

A recent Channel 4 Dispatches documentary lays bare serious concerns about the co-mingled collection system Brent has introduced.  The very same concerns that Brent Friends of the Earth and Brent Campaign against Climate Change put to the Council Executive on several occasions - all to no avail.  (See

http://wembleymatters.blogspot.com/2010/12/brent-council-executive-last-night.html

 

Readers are advised to watch the second half of the programme online at http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/4od

 

This shows that whilst there is a welcome increase in the amount of recycling put out by households, much of it ends up in landfill or goes overseas for reprocessing.  Facts that Brent have chosen to ignore.

 

We also expressed concerns to council officers over a year ago that the new system would be unpopular with residents and require a well-resourced high-profile communications strategy to explain the changes.  It would have been far better to have pictures of the new materials collected on the new wheelie bins, plus people knocking on doors to get the message across, than relying on leaflets that can easily get lost or be misunderstood.   Brent could also use Streetwatchers or former Green Zones leaders to help educate neighbours if funds are tight.

 

Of further concern is the level of carbon emissions as a result of the new system.  When Camden switched from a kerbside sorted to a co-mingled collection, their carbon emissions increased a staggering 77%, causing them to switch back at great cost.  When actual monitoring of changes is underway in Brent, are we to face a costly rethink too?