LAWR

January 2015 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 13 PFI installations that will need disman- tling. That's a waste of money. OK so that may be a long way off but the point is that waste infrastructure needs to work with these trends and develop flexible plans that can meet changing waste demands. But rather than commit vast sums of money reacting, perhaps councils (maybe fund- ed through a waste hierarchy grant scheme) should work towards minimis- ing the amount of waste produced by developing reuse schemes and educat- ing consumers on product buying? Tackling the obsessive culture of recycling should also be on the agenda. Don't get me wrong, recycling is great but it would be even better if we could link it up to a more localised approach to resource production instead of ship- ping materials abroad. Why not cre- ate the reprocessing infrastructure and jobs here and put the materials back into local society? By preventing, mini- mising and reusing waste we are going to hit landfill diversion targets anyway. This term we constantly hear banded around about waste being a valuable resource is nonsense. This is nothing more than two dimensional propaganda from the waste management contrac- tors and people too lazy to tackle the core problem. Waste is not a valuable resource. It more often than not arises as an output of an inefficient process. We need to stop using this out-dat- ed mantra/way of thinking and shake things up a bit. So how do we do it? Councils clearly need funding but perhaps there should be a rethink in how money is awarded? How about a waste hierarchy grant scheme where all the money is put into a pot and awarded proportionately with the waste hierarchy? Submissions are judged on the ability to prevent waste, minimise waste, reuse and so on. Extra points can be awarded for community collaboration and improvement. What is clear is that waste manage- ment can be as much an opportunity for local authorities as it is currently a burden. Councils do need more help on this. Free of unwieldy PFI contracts councils should be able to innovate, develop schemes that fit local trends and demands. By focussing on the fail- ings of the PFI waste management contracts, perhaps the PAC has done councils a favour? Perhaps central gov- ernment will be brave enough to enable innovation, foreseeing the potential economic as well as environmental benefits of the waste hierarchy? Money talks and with an election around the corner, so do votes. Dan Botterill is chief executive of Cloud Sustainability. WE ARE HELPING LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO IMPLEMENT A ZERO WASTE STRATEGY FOR FUEL USAGE Kevin Mansell, Transport Manager, Lewes District Council MERRIDALE Fuel Management One Solution > Lewes District Council has implemented a web-based fuel management service to help improve the efficiency of its fleet of refuse wagons and utility vehicles. The new Merridale system, now installed at the Newhaven transport depot, is backed up by an automatic stock control and fuel usage reporting service, provided by MIS Fuel Monitoring of Wolverhampton. We have replaced manual records with Merridale FuelWorks, an electronic monitoring system that records fuel usage automatically and provides us current stock status and usage reports, as and whenever they are required. It's a computer system but with none of the hassle. " " FUEL MONITORING SYSTEMS | FUEL PUMPS | FUEL TANKS | TANK GAUGES | MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE call 01902 350700 email sales@merridale.co.uk visit www.merridale.co.uk For other fuel management success stories, visit: www.fuelmanagement.co.uk Fuel Management Fuel Management One Solution One Solution Fuel Management One Solution Fuel Management Fuel Management One Solution Fuel Management > FUEL PUMPS FUEL PUMPS | FUEL TANKS | TANK GAUGES Fuel Management One Solution

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