W12 to host 'greenest ever' rubbish tip and incinerator

Hammersmith and Fulham Council have announced they are to develop the 'greenest ever' waste recycling collection point in the southwestern corner of Shepherd's Bush Green.

The project, which is being developed with grant development aid of 10 million euros from the European Union's environmental fund, employs revolutionary new thinking in ways to tackle
greenhouse gas emissions and reduce landfill.

The most controversial aspect of the project is likely to be the incinerator which is to be the main way of disposing of the waste. Consultants to the project had advised that the most
effective way to reduce the waste output of a community is to make it face up to the consequences of having to dispose of it.

Fund spokesperson, Abril Inocente of Spain's Candoroso Corporation told us, "At the moment most waste from areas like Shepherd's Bush is ultimately shipped in containers to China or put into landfill and the environmental impact of that is very negative. By making the area deal with its own waste it will teach people to recycle as much as they possibly can."

Although the incinerator will have state of the art filters, which means that most of the soot
particles will be removed before reaching the atmosphere, if it is operating at above designed
capacity its efficiency will be reduced with a knock on effect on the local environment. The
idea is that an area will be 'punished' if it fails to meet recycling targets by having deteriorating air quality. The designers of the facility have given assurances that the resulting air pollution will not be sufficient to impact the health of people without existing respiratory conditions.

The project will go by the name of 'Dump on Your Own Doorstep' and it is anticipated that
should it prove to be successful it would be the first on many similar ventures across the UK.

Ms Inocente said, "Shepherd's Bush is very lucky to be chosen to pilot this historic project which will transform the way that the developed world deals with its waste."

The dump will also be closed to private cars as research has shown that the environmental
impact of driving to a facility to recycle outweighs any resulting benefits. Therefore any
residents wishing to use it will need to walk or take their rubbish by public transport.
Bus drivers will be instructed to give free travel to anyone carrying a black plastic bin bag. Leading estate agent Foxtons, which is based in Notting Hill, is aiming to improve its image by offering residents the opportunity to use its cars: the boots of their green minis will be left unlocked allowing residents who see one of their vehicles parked in their streets to deposit their rubbish in them. Foxtons staff will then take the rubbish to the facility later on.

Given that the site will be some distance from the nearest homes it is unlikely that any
unpleasant odours will be experienced unless the prevailing wind is coming in your direction.

By encouraging residents to walk to the facility the Councils also believe they can have a
significant impact on the growing obesity crisis in the area.

A Council spokesperson said that residents, particularly those living in the most deprived part of the borough, needn't worry about missing changed waste collection days as they could just walk up to the new facility confident that they would be helping to save the planet. The Council is also considering random collection days to encourage residents to use the facility.

The details of the scheme were worked out by representatives of Hammersmith and Fulham Council at the recent property conference in Cannes. A bumper edition of the Council's free newspaper is to be issued to publicise the scheme, its environmental benefits and their commitment to reduce unnecessary waste.

April Fool's Day 2009