Harrow Agenda 21

Minutes of the Waste & Recycling Group Meeting

Committee Room 6, Harrow Civic Centre, Station Road, Harrow, HA1 2UZ

26^th May 2010, 7.00 PM 

Present: 
 

 
 

1. Welcome and Apologies

 

MO welcomed new member Kate Upton to HA21 and to the Waste & Recycling Group. 

Apologies for absences had been received from Himesh Chavda (HC), Charlotte Neville (CN), Keith Tarring (KT) and Heena Modi (HM). 

HM felt unable to take any further part in the group’s work: MO thanked her for her part in the work over 2 years, and hoped she might feel able to rejoin in the future. 
 

2. Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting

 

Minutes of the previous meeting on the 30th March 2010 were considered, and the following amendments were made:

• Himesh Chavda was listed twice as attending – duplicate entry removed.
• 4.1 (d) “the waste needs to be sorted later (at a MRF) or it” removed.
• 4.1 (i) to read “GREEN tick”.
• 4.1 (n) line 2 to read “green boxes”.

 

The amended minutes were then approved. 

3. Harrow Waste Management Report

 

AB reported that Harrow had achieved 45-46% of waste being composted or recovered in the year April 2009- March 2010, target being 46%. (2008-9 had 43% with target of 42%). Target for 2010-11 is 50%, and the Labour party manifesto commitment over 4 years is 65%.

• He stated 100 tonnes of waste from flats was processed at a dirty MRF with 25% recovery (i.e. paper, glass, cans and plastic bottles).
• Replying to a ? from MO, he stated that the Calvert landfill attracted landfill tax as it did not capture all the methane it produced, and that Harrow’s future plans could include a gasification plant, possibly at the CA site, rather than an anaerobic digestion plant on the Kodak site

 

• He explained that other boroughs in West Waste had also changed their political control, hence that the consultation date for the West London Waste Plan was uncertain.

 

1. Replying  to ?s from BM, MO & MC, AB clarified Harrow’s & Grundon’s charges to schools, indicated Harrow can collect recyclables from church and community halls, stated that Gemma Moore leaves Harrow at the end of July and will be replaced, and confirmed that the Energy team would be attending Under One Sky.

 

4. Projects and Campaigns for 2009-10

 

1.   What happens to Waste

 

BM reported that her family had completed filming its activities in generating waste. MC reported that the film would cover plastic waste and that other materials and compost could be covered in later films. He agreed to liaise with AB on filming waste being collected, and would invite Alan Booth to help with editing, stated that he had consent from the French company involved to use extracts from their dvd, and stated that work would not be completed before Under One Sky or HA21’s AGM. 

DM offered to record the commentary. 

Action: MO to send Project Brief to KU, and to seek Bywaters’  consent to use extracts from their dvd when he sees them at Futurescope. 

2.    Food Waste competition

 

MO’s proposed draft was discussed. The meeting agreed that details of the prizes being offered should be included, that the comp should be publicised using the newsletter, Education newsletter (via MR), that entrants should be invited to submit a picture with their recipe, that the criteria for judging should be originality and proportion of leftovers used, and that the head chef at the Cumberland hotel should be invited to judge the competition. 

Action:  MO to make revisions and contacts.

 

  4.3    Under One Sky 

AB assured BM that bins for general use would be delivered to the site on Saturday (Gerry Hickman and Linda Anousis of Public Realm Services responsible), that the energy team would be attending, and that he would provide labels. 
 

MO holds blue, grey and brown bins for the chuck out challenge. 

MC reported that we have been allocated a pitch, outside, not in a marquee as previously discussed. 

Actions:  MC to arrange 5 places in the parade for HA21, 

MO to investigate costumes (e.g. Coke can) from Campaign for Real Recycling or elsewhere. 

LR to alert FOE to the changed arrangements, and to email AB to request “No Junk Mail” stickers. 

All to collect mixed rubbish for competition (we are likely to need 10 carrier bags full). 

4.4   Hard Water 

MO reported a conversation with Ted Casey of Three Valleys on hard water, and explained that hard water has implications for biodiversity (requires excessive use of soap, hence excess demand for palm oil and similar oils which soap is manufactured from, hence demand for plantations to supply them, hence loss of tropical hardwood forests to create plantations, loss of the species which inhabit them). Treatment at source is possible. 

Action:   MO to approach Water Voice and Bob Blackman (his MP in Harrow East). 

MC raised the separate question of compulsory water metering, and advocated this – besides the direct waste which unmetered water encourages, it also represents waste of the energy used to process and distribute it, and in its disposal. He described an Australian 6 block tariff which discourages excess consumption while allowing a minimum supply to the poor. 

Action:  MC to find a cause we can support.  

5. Group visit to recycling/composting facility

 

MO stated that he had made arrangements for the Group and other members of HA21 to visit West London Composting at Harefield on Thursday August 5 at 10.30 a.m. Travel arrangements still to be made. 

Action : MO to put details of the visit into In Contact, and inform MR for the Education Group.  

6. Matters arising not covered by the agenda items

 

None 

 

7. Any other business

 

BM reported that DM was to receive the Jack Petchey award with a ceremony at Harrow Arts Centre on Tuesday June 8.

MO congratulated DM on this achievement and other members added their congratulations.

 

8. Dates and venues for later meetings in 2010:

 

Wednesday July 14 at HA21 offices, 27 Northolt Rd., South Harrow, HA2 0LH 

Subsequent meetings at Civic Centre, 29.9.10. (room 3), 24.11.10. (6) 

9. The Meeting closed at 9.00 p.m.