Last updated 11:26, Thursday, 13 November 2008

An idea which saves taxpayers millions of pounds while helping the environment is not to be sniffed at – and you can sniff all you want but you won’t catch a pong from the future of Cumbrian waste disposal.

Cumbrians have been recycling much more of their refuse. And soon even the rubbish they leave for the council to collect will be recycled.

Next week Cumbria County Council has the chance to approve plans to build two new £20m waste treatment centres, one at Hespin Wood near Carlisle and another in Barrow. The plan would see household waste dried, separated and recycled as fuel, compost or aggregate for the construction industry.

The council estimates that the amount buried in landfill sites would be cut by three-quarters, saving more than £300m in landfill taxes.

The amount of household refuse recycled by Cumbrians has already risen from 17 per cent to 44 per cent in the past five years. At first we were slow to come round to recycling and fortnightly bin collections have left a bad taste in the mouth for many. The public will need to be convinced that this latest scheme is a good one.

Another drawback is the possibility of complacency. If people feel their waste will be recycled anyway, some may lose sight of the individual responsibility which is crucial for a cleaner, greener future.