Well done to Barnet Borough Council for pushing to reach a recycling rate of 50 per cent by next year, as reported in the latest issue of the council’s free magazine.

Here’s hoping that people in Barnet respond so well that the 50 per cent target is reached and surpassed.

However, the feature doesn’t address the problems facing future disposal of the remaining 50 per cent of rubbish, ie the stuff you still throw in the black bin.

The North London Waste Authority, which handles Barnet’s ‘residual arisings’, has pledged to end dumping rubbish in landfill and is working on a new long-term plan after an inquiry inspector rejected the previous one.

Its current thinking seems to be focused on expanding the waste incinerator at Edmonton, though there are other more environmentally friendly possibilities it should be proposing.

Publication of the draft new plan has been delayed until after the General Election, giving the impression the authority expects it to be controversial.

There is already an outcry and confusion over Barnet Council’s plans for a new waste site at Abbotts Depot, off Oakleigh Road South, while people living near Pinkham Way are still anxious about that site’s future after seeing off the plans for a giant rubbish processing plant there.

The best thing we could all do would be to cut down on the overall amount of surplus stuff we throw away, recyclable or non-recyclable.

Let’s pay attention to what we buy and what we chuck out, to minimise the need for fresh sites where Barnet and the NLWA may want to process waste in the future: Abbotts Depot, Pinkham Way or possibly other locations yet to be revealed.

Andrew Newby

Barnet Green Party