DESPITE reassurances from director of city strategy Bill Woolley (Letters, July 23) about the environmental and financial ‘benefits’ of a 25-year waste treatment contract with Amey Cespa, the proposed solution will be more costly than current disposal and assumes ever growing levels of waste.

The long-term contract means that future cuts to non-recyclable packaging and food waste, combined with a likely shift from oil-based to starch or paper-based packaging, will undermine the projected waste levels, resulting in financial penalties to the councils for failing to supply sufficient waste.

Bill says it is important that everyone has the opportunity to air their views, by which I assume he means respond to the bidder’s biased questionnaire that simply asks if residents support the idea of an alternative to landfill, without mentioning waste minimisation/reuse.

However, other than seeking endorsement for the proposal, there seems no point in commenting since the councils have no ‘Plan B’.

A strategy of waste minimisation and ‘zero waste’ has not been examined or costed. Raising recycling rates from 43% in 2010 to 50% by 2020 as promised from this contract is not exactly ambitious!

Coun Andy D’Agorne, City of York Council Green group leader.



• I AM astounded North Yorkshire County Council has ruled against holding a public meeting on its plans for an incinerator to be built at Allerton Park.

What further demonstration could there be of the arrogance of power than elected officials declining to hold a full public debate on such a controversial proposal?

Coun Claire Wood’s comments sum up the council’s out-of-touch attitude. She Wood stated that: “We want to listen to people’s views and act on them before a final decision is made on the preferred bidder for the scheme in the autumn.”

In my opinion, if Coun Wood was truly open to listening to people’s views, then she would not make statements such as this which suggest that the option of not having the incinerator is being ignored. Clearly some people’s views are more equal than others.

York should not sign an agreement which ties the city into producing the same pre-arranged level of waste for 25 years. Instead, we must look at ways to produce less waste in the first place, and to recycle more.

Owen Clayton, Walmgate, York.