WHEN the Government published its draft strategy on the future of the country's rubbish, entitled A Way With Waste, it asked for responses. Nationally the

consultation paper generated about 600 replies from organisations such as local authorities, big businesses and housing

associations. But one voice was that of a tiny residents association in Southwick. CHRIS BAKER reports.

WITH just 35 members, many of them retired, the Church Lane Residents Association is more used to organising neighbourhood watch meetings than wading into the running debate about the future of waste management in Sussex.

The Government' draft strategy on the future of the country's rubbish generated replies from local authorities and the business world.

But the association decided that it too had something to say on the issue and has written to Whitehall with some grassroots suggestions.

The strategy document has been published to ask groups their opinion on ways of dealing with the nation's growing waste problem, with options including incineration and recycling.

Association chairman Peter Mockridge said the document was "full of good intentions." He added: "Obviously a lot of work has gone into it, in analysing the problem and various solutions.

"But then it all becomes a bit woolly because they don't seem to have any policy on what they want to do."

The group became interested in the debate because an incinerator may be built at Shoreham Harbour to cut the amount of waste being dumped in landfill sites.

Mr Mockridge, 60, is skilled in cutting through woolly words, having previously worked in local government.

Rather than meeting in a boardroom or ornate council chamber, the association's members would gather in one another's Southwick homes to look at the document and prepare their views on it.

Chief among their suggestions was a call for new laws which would force manufacturers and retailers to cut down on the amount of packaging they use.

Mr Mockridge said: "Ordinary householders actually don't have a lot of control over the materials that come into their house and the waste that is produced. A lot of it seems to be packaging waste.

"We can't say 'no we don't want this' and we are left with trying to do something with it ourselves.

"I firmly think that unless the Government takes the bull by the horns and does something positive along those lines, we are not going to get anywhere.

"A lot of these things have to be a national initiative rather than pass the buck to local authorities. I think a lot needs to come from the top."

The amount of household rubbish being thrown away is estimated to be increasing by about three per cent a year, leading to a doubling of present levels by 2020.

To cope with it all - and comply with EU rules that will soon limit what can be dumped in landfill sites - the consultation paper's suggestions include:

l Raising public awareness on the problems associated with waste.

l Placing a greater emphasis on environmental considerations, such as manufacturing easily re-usable or recyclable packaging.

l Making more use of secondary (recycled) rather than primary materials.

l Introducing taxes and price guarantees to ensure there is a stable market for recyclable rubbish once it is collected.

The document also highlights trials of composting schemes to increase the amount of green waste that can be re-circulated.

But beyond reducing and recycling waste, the draft strategy believes incineration will have to play a part, the favoured model being waste to energy.

Other technologies, it says, are not sufficiently advanced to rely upon.

The document adds that modern technology and a tight regulatory framework means burners with the potential to produce heat and power protect human health and the environment.

The existing goal of recycling 25 per cent and recovering 40 per cent of waste by 2000 is unlikely to be met - nationally, only eight per cent of household waste is recycled - and a revised date of 2005 has been set.

If targets in the consultation paper emerge unchanged when the finalised document is published early in the New Year, 30 per cent of household waste should be recycled or composted by 2010.

By 2015 that figure should rise to two-thirds and ministers urge local authorities to meet the 2005 targets "as soon as possible" to make the 2015 figure achievable.

But Mr Mockridge believes bolder steps than many of the paper's suggestions will be needed if any of those targets are to be turned into reality.

It is a point echoed by Rick Child, of Brighton and Hove Green Party, who said: "If the Government does not take a lead there is only a certain amount we can do locally."

He adds that reducing and recycling, even in the current climate, can make a difference. "We can do an awful lot more. We can implement proper recycling and start segregating waste," he says.

Sorting bottles, tins, plastics and textiles ready for collection from the doorstep is seen as the key to any successful recycling scheme.

Calls for a lead from government are taken up by Lewes MP Norman Baker, who believes the emphasis should be on re-use first and recycle second.

The average milk bottle is still used 17 times, he points out.

The Lib Dem MP said: "I think the Government should be looking at carrots and sticks.

"There should be incentives to reduce and recycle and disincentives to use virgin materials."

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