Jeremy Hilton condemns councillors’ trip to Europe to visit Waste Incinerators (Jeremy Hilton)

Jeremy Hilton condemns councillors’ trip to Europe to visit Waste Incinerators

November 14, 2011 8:31 AM

Gloucestershire County Council Leader Mark Hawthorne and two other Conservative councillors visited waste incinerators in the European Union, one at - ISVAG in Belgium and the other at Cantabria in Spain.

The cost of the trips was funded by the two bidders hoping to build a massive waste incinerator in Gloucestershire.

Liberal Democrats on Gloucestershire County Council question whether incinerator site visits made in the weeks commencing 24 and 31 October to Belgium and Spain were really necessary.

Liberal Democrat Leader Councillor Jeremy Hilton said:

"The estimated cost was £380 per person per visit - Three Conservative councillors, the project sponsor and a representative from the media office visited incinerator sites in Spain and in Belgium by both rail and air.

"It is incredible that the Leader of the Council and his buddies can find the time to go over to Europe to visit these sites.

"When I asked councillor Hawthorne and his cabinet colleagues on 20^th October whether any of them had driven down to Avonmouth to visit the new Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant, operated by New Earth Solutions that is being used by Bristol City Council and three other councils to process their waste, all I got was a deafening silence from councillor Hawthorne.

"It seems an all expenses paid trip to overseas locations is more attractive to the Tory administration than doing ones homework on residual waste technology here at home.

"The evidence is clear that Mechanical Biological Treatment is both cost-effective and cleaner for the environment alternative than a proposed mass burn incinerator.

"The waste incinerator will cost between £465million and £605million that Gloucestershire taxpayers will be paying for the next 25 years."

"The whole process to find a solution to the residual waste problem in Gloucestershire is a joke- the Tories should be ashamed."

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