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• Reference: 2002/0273-1
• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

The Draft Municipal Waste Strategy sets out a desire to create a single waste disposal authority for London. Bearing in mind many boroughs are already engaged in long-term waste contracts, how do you intend to create this single authority and how will it work? .

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

John - both you and Nicky, as the Mayor's Waste Advisor, have told us at the Environment Committee, that the use of wheeled bins by boroughs actually reduces the amount of recycling. Now, from the borough's point of view, wheeled bins are useful because it reduces their cost of collection, and from the householder's point of view, they're convenient. So, are you actually planning, as a part of your approach to waste, to be reducing wheeled bins in London, or are you going to accept them as a reality?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

You say you would hesitate if a new wheeled bin scheme was proposed. What form of activity would that hesitation take?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Well, either you think that wheeled bins are a bad thing and you're going to do something about it, or you're going to use them in a positive way, to help to improve people's recycling rates. I can think of several ways that you might actually modify a bin scheme to do that.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Can you envisage yourself turning down a contract because of the size of wheeled bins?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

So, it's just words then, really, is it?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Which is most likely? Is the Secretary of State amenable to making legislative changes, or will we need to do it ourselves?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

So are you saying that a London-wide waste authority would have come to a different decision about the Bexley incinerator?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

I suspect local residents wouldn't see the decision as being any better if it was a London decision than a Western Riverside one.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Indeed and looking at it from the point of view of residents, not just of Bexley, but all over London, what improvement will they actually see from there being a single London waste authority? What difference would it make to any of their services, apart from their council tax bill?