We would like to give answers to the questions raised within the Bolton Evening News from Mr Griffiths in order for people to understand more about how we operate our waste service in Bolton.

Bolton is an independent authority in terms of recycling. It has its own statutory targets set by Government. However, there is a jointly agreed Municipal Waste Management Strategy for Greater Manchester, and Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) organises the disposal and treatment of waste for the nine waste collection authorities.

Bolton will not be financially penalised if it hits its recycling targets this year but other authorities within Greater Manchester do not. The Government is monitoring authorities which do not meet their recycling targets and is considering intervention strategies for them.

The plastic and glass that we collect is mechanically separated by a company at Darwen, and the separated products are then used for industrial processes and the production of new goods or construction materials. The Council currently receives an income from the recyclables taken to Darwen. The company has documentation which demonstrates that the materials are not being taken to inappropriate markets.

The Council will explore any ways of operating that deliver best value to the collection arrangements. We also need to be mindful that all collection arrangements will have to be in line with the disposal arrangements which are currently going through an extensive tendering / PFI process.

The more we recycle, the less waste we send to GMWDA for disposal, thus the cost of disposal that Bolton Council is charged by GMWDA goes down.

Because of the continuing increase in Landfill Tax and the increasing costs of disposal technology to avoid putting waste into holes in the ground, the unit cost of disposal is set to rise. Constant measures to improve recycling and minimise our waste will help keep the cost of disposal down.

The net cost of household waste collection, as measured by the government's Best Value Performance Indicator 86, is £26.24. This is the figure for the financial year 2004/05, and covers 116,207 households within the borough. This cost includes all the services provided by the waste collection service and not just the emptying of grey bins. It doesn't include disposal.

Alan Fisher Director of Environmental Services Department