He was a fool to make refuse derived fuel!

It is four long years since the great fly and odour saga of Mackworth Derby UK and for many it is now a distant memory put to the back of residents minds.

But oh to be a fly on the wall at Shows Waste Management back in 2016 when the local media placed it's attention on this company that had been working away in the back streets of Mackworth making refuse derived fuel known as RDF used in incineration plants to generate power.

Issues had been ongoing in the local area since late 2015 but with an explosion in flies and odour as the weather warmed in early 2016 the odour hit the fan and the media was all over it like err FLIES!

To learn more about what the Environment found on a site visit in 2016 it is well worth checking out my blog post from July 2016.

http://derby-waste-a-rubbish-blog.blogspot.com/2016/07/to-be-fly-on-wall.html

It is anyone's guess as to why it has taken four years to reach court but it finally arrived in Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court in early February where two of the directors of Shows Waste Management Warren Steele and Samantha Turton faced charges of breaking environmental rules while operating the site. It is not currently clear why Samantha's husband Wayne Turton who was also a director was not also party to the case as he was a director for the period in question while Warren Steele was a director until late December 2015. 

At the court case in February 2020 local paper The Derby Evening Telegraph reports that Warren Steele pleaded guilty to the charges put to him however Samantha Turton pleaded not guilty and asked for the case to be heard at Derby Crown Court. This report by Carl Slater from The Derby Telegraph made front page news.

Warren Steele was later sentenced for his part in the terrible fly and odour situation that unfolded in 2015/16 in the Derby UK suburb of Mackworth. Mr Steele was given a Community Order requiring him to to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work and required to pay £10,000 towards the prosecution costs in a case heard at Derby Crown Court.

A full report by the Environment Agency can be read here  

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/director-of-firm-that-caused-fly-infestation-and-odour-sentenced

The case continues as the other director in the case Samantha Turton is due in court at a later date as the case has been delayed due to Covid19.

©SIMON BACON 2020 

How to save money? make someone else pay!

Back in February 2019 it was becoming clear that Derbyshire Dales District Council were proposing to remove their previously free garden waste recycling service and replace it with a charged for service just at the time that in reverse Derby City Council were returning their garden waste service to a free service in an attempt to boost the recycling service in the city.

A vast improvement in tonnage of garden waste collected has already been noted by Derby City Council in response to a recent public question at Full Council. 

Between 01/04/19 and 31/10/19 the council collected 10,264 tonnes of organic waste compared to 3,786 tonnes for the same period in 2018.

This means an increased collection of 6,478 tonnes 

So with this obvious benefit which can be seen by the results of Derby City Council why have Derbyshire Dales suddenly moved the other way? 

WELL

It could have something to do with if sly old Derbyshire Dales District Council can get residents to put their waste into the residual waste bin instead because people will say I AM NOT PAYING THAT then its happy days -

 BECAUSE DERBYSHIRE DALES DISTRICT COUNCIL DO NOT PAY FOR RESIDUAL WASTE DISPOSAL AS THAT COST IS MET BY DERBYSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL !

You can read more about that here in my blog post from 2019 

http://derby-waste-a-rubbish-blog.blogspot.com/2019/02/something-is-rotten-in-derbyshire-dales.html

So where are we now?
Local Democracy Reporter at the Derby Telegraph newspaper Eddie Bisknell wrote a report in late December 2019 that Derbyshire Dales District Council had now agreed to apply a FIFTY POUND garden waste charge !
Eddie reports that Councillors "wished there was another option on the table" With waste disposal costs facing an increase of over £2 million the council say this cost increase Is not affordable without there being an affect on residents.
BUT
As we know by forcing garden waste into the residual waste stream it WILL impact on local residents by putting a cost pressure on the County Council instead while also making residents pay!
The charged for service begins in Spring 2021 unless prior to this the UK government put in place changes in garden waste disposal legislation. 

©SIMON BACON 2020