January Questions to Mayor & Cabinet

Below are the questions I submitted to Mayor & Cabinet for last Wednesday's Full Council meeting. Unfortunately we ran out of time to ask supplementary questions, but if I'd had the opportunity I would have asked the deputy mayor why she feels no need to submit a formal response to the Heathrow Consultation, given that the impact of an increase in aviation would not only increase air and noise pollution for Lewisham residents but also negate any reductions in carbon emissions that Lewisham Council manages to achieve.

Question
Will Lewisham Council be submitting a formal response to the public consultation on Heathrow airport expansion, given the likely negative impact on Lewisham residents' quality of life from additional noise and air pollution?

Reply
The council does not intend to submit a formal response to the public consultation on adding capacity at Heathrow.

Question by Councillor Luxton of the Cabinet Member for Customer Services
How successful have the Tetrapak recycling banks been since their installation last year, approximately how many tonnes of waste have been diverted from the incinerator as a result, and are there any plans to expand the scheme by increasing the number of such recycling banks in the borough?

Reply
The Tetrapak bins have proved popular with residents. During the period from their installation in August to November, 584.75kg of Tetrapaks have been collected. The figure has increased steadily each month throughout this period from 33kg in August to 220kg in November.

The five Tetrapak recycling bins are provided by Bywaters Waste Management on behalf of Tetrapak UK. Five bins were allocated to each of the London Boroughs, and there are no plans for Tetrapak to increase this in the near future.

Question by Councillor Luxton of the Cabinet Member for Customer Services
Please clarify how residents should safely dispose of low-energy light bulbs, batteries and waste electrical equipment? How many collection points for these items do we have in the borough and how does this compare with neighbouring Greenwich?
Reply

Greenwich has introduced bring sites to dispose of Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in addition to their Reuse & Recycling Centre. However, since the new WEEE regulations came into force last year, it is the manufacturers of electrical items that have a responsibility to properly dispose of them. Some stores offer a take-back service. If this is not available, Lewisham Council has registered as a Designated Collection Facility to enable residents to take their WEEE items, which include light bulbs, to the Reuse & Recycling Centre. Bulky items can be collected by the council at a cost of £15 for three items or £30 for fridges / freezers. Batteries can also be safely disposed of at any Sainsbury’s store, where people can ask for a battery disposal bag at the customer services desk.

Question by Councillor Luxton of the Cabinet Member for Customer Services
Recent casework of mine has uncovered the fact that the council is currently working to a policy of not repairing broken benches but instead replacing them entirely even where a simple repair would safely restore it to use. Does the Deputy Mayor agree that, as we are supposed to be moving to a low-carbon, low-waste, resource-efficient economy, this is a waste of council resources and runs completely counter to the 'reduce, re-use, recycle' hierarchy that the council urges residents to adopt? How will she spread the 'reduce, reuse' culture through all council departments with responsibility for maintenance?"

Reply
I understand that this relates specifically to the occasional street bench where the cost of the repair is in excess of the replacement costs. Officers are aware that this is not an ideal situation and are currently trying to engage a local organisation that may be able to carry out repair more cost effectively than the Council’s larger contractors.

As regards ensuring that all Council Departments are aware of their environmental responsibilities, all services are required to regularly demonstrate how they are improving their environmental performance as part of the council’s annual service planning process.