Brum's rubbish at recycling, says MP; EDGBASTON: Labour and Tories clash as city plummets down national league.Byline: By Poppy Brady BIRMINGHAM MP Gisela Stuart Gisela Gschaider Stuart (born November 26, 1955 as Gisela Gschaider) is the Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Edgbaston in the United Kingdom. Stuart was born in Velden, Bavaria, Germany, raised in her parents' Roman Catholic faith. today questioned the city council's green credentials after Government figures revealed that the authority has plunged down the recycling league. Tables drafted by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs show that Birmingham has fallen 50 places since last year and is now ranked at 373 out of 393 English local authorities. The figures also show that the total amount of rubbish collected by the council that is recycled stands at just 18.39 per cent - the 20th worst. Ms Stuart (Lab, Edgbaston) said: "Birmingham's Conservative leaders like to crow about their achievements in recycling, but these numbers show thay they have very little to brag about. "They may have increased the rate of recycling slightly, but the fact is that other councils are increasing recycling at a faster rate and as a result, Birmingham is falling further and further behind." The news comes at a time when the council has been mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in controversy over the possibility of piloting wheelie wheel·ie n. A stunt in which the front wheel or wheels of a vehicle, such as a bicycle or motorcycle, are raised so that the vehicle is balanced momentarily on its rear wheel or wheels. bins in parts of the city - a row that threatened to split the ruling Tory/Lib Dem coalition. Following a heated debate, the council agreed to the possibility of pilots, but has not provided any budget to fund them. She added: "Yet again the Tories have fudged their response to a serious challenge for our city. With leadership like this, it is little wonder that Birmingham is sliding into the recycling relegation zone." Edgbaston constituency's Tory chairman, Coun Deirdre Alden, said: "This is a bit rich coming from Labour, who had hardly done anything about recycling when we took over in 2004. "Because of this we had to start from a much lower base, but we still managed to catch up and have the fastest recycling roll-out in northern Europe. Unlike most councils our landfill rate is under 20 per cent. "The rest of the rubbish goes to our Tyseley plant where is is recycled to generate electricity, while the bottom ash Bottom ash refers to the non-combustible constituents of coal with traces of combustibles embedded in forming clinkers and sticking to hot side walls of furnace during the furnace working. is used to fill potholes in the roads." CAPTION(S): ACTION... paper recycling Paper recycling is the process of recovering waste paper and remaking it into new paper products. There are three categories of paper that can be used as feedstocks for making recycled paper: mill broke, pre-consumer waste, and post-consumer waste. at Smurfit Kappa, in Mount Street, Nechells, Birmingham. Inset, Gisela Stuart MP . |
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