Sunday 1 June 2008

Landfill and Blacka



Landfill is a pretty grubby business. Buying up land and digging holes in it which you then fill up with rubbish. Being environmentally abhorrent it's disapproved of. But government is stuck for what to do about it because the population and its industry friends are hooked on consumption of goods which create more and more waste. Instead of stopping landfill it decides that those who gain from it should not make outrageous profits. So it devised the landfill tax and landfill tax credits. The rules say that landfill companies have to contribute to environmental schemes. The working out of it all can be complex. But the results are that approved groups (like wildlife trusts) benefit from grants from landmark companies like Veolia and Biffa who then are able to claim that they are wonderfully environmentally responsible. SWT gets funds from Veolia and Sita.
Hmmmn.
Is it that different to the packaging industry giving large sums to the Keep Britain Tidy organisation to ensure that what you do about litter is to educate the public rather than stopping the production of the stuff at source? Or the quarry industry who also claim great environmental credit through the Hanson Trust while taking away a half of the Peak District in huge polluting lorries?

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