Herts.WOW (Herts. WithOut Waste)

This is not so much a finite project as a network for co-ordinating actions across groups and individuals including members of Transition groups and campaigning groups. 

Waste handling is a complex subject in terms of changing perceptions, social fairness, technologies, economics, politics, commercial interests, research findings and administrative formalities. The members of Herts.WOW have kept in touch loosely by email and phone, then come together for concerted action at crucial stages:

1. We monitor the meetings, announcements, contacts and dealings of Hertfordshire County Council through the long process of its trying to procure a single site for processing waste materials (mainly household waste), against vigorous local protests.
2. We gather information on more sustainable methods to use than the probable use of "energy from waste", i.e. mass incineration of mixed waste.
3. We take part in public consultations and we communicate directly with council members and the relevant officers.
4. We individually take part in various groups, events, studies etc. so as to share information, contacts and examples of best practice.

For further information and contacts, see the Herts.WOW web site. We value contacts with similar groups and especially with anyone who has relevant expertise.

Notes:

a. Whilst we take part in lobbying and we co-operate closely with campaigning groups, our focus is on what this Council - and perhaps every municipal waste management authority! - should be aiming to achieve.

b. Councils and the Transition movement have a mutual interest in long timescales of say 20 to 30 years. In the Council's case that is the length of 'lock-in' to a contract based on a private finance initiative (PFI) for enlarged waste treatment capacity. In our case it is for targets of changing to 'low carbon' ways of living.

c. There is a good deal of understanding on both sides. The long-term aims are similar and the 'start of pipe' methods are similar (Reduce, Recycle etc.). However from a local authority perspective, we have the luxury of idealism whereas they have hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rubbish to dispose of each year. From a Transition viewpoint, the procurement process is too inflexible to cope with a fast-changing situation and most councils are unresponsive to examples of good strategies being applied elsewhere. (See The Alternative Approach, attached.)

d. The planning and economic set-up in which this has been played out is recognised to be deeply flawed. Perhaps the whole dysfunctional framework will be reformed, starting with the separation of responsibilities for collection and treatment of the various kinds of waste. (See the UCL_EI Waste Report 2010, linked below.)

e. Herts.WOW, HAI, Friends of the Earth and many other groups have amassed a wealth of information to share, but of course it is continually overtaken by fresh material and changed regulations.

f. It is vital to understand the formal structures and relationships. Here the county council looks to major contractors to propose solutions to its waste processing needs. That process effectively excludes smaller and more innovative providers that could install local treatment plants with new technologies. Borough and district councils operate in partnership with the County Council; their performance in waste collection methods and recycling rates varies hugely. The council officers tend to be knowledgeable and so are some elected members (councillors); but most councillors lack a critical grasp of the "environmental" effects of "energy from waste"!

g. Only radical changes to the planning infrastructure can ensure sustainable approachesand only concerted action by national government can achieve that. It remains to be seen whether the new coalition government in the UK will put a stop to massive centralising projects driven by the major contractors and fuelled by public debtedness ("PFI"). 

h. Many public and private actions have helped to keep this Council under scrutiny, despite the usual commercial confidentiality, public "consultations" and self-serving publicity at public expense. One spin-off, in part, has been the series of talks "Your Carbon Counts", profiled as another project on this site: Your Carbon Counts!.

i. Your comments are welcome, especially in proposing a Transition-minded way ahead for the next 5, 10, 15 and 20 years!