Latest news with #WasteServices
BBC News
04-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
East Lindsey District Council withdraws from nuclear waste talks
A council has officially withdrawn from talks to bury nuclear waste in the Lincolnshire Waste Services (NWS), a government body, had earmarked an area near Louth, in East Lindsey, as a possible site for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).At a meeting on Wednesday, East Lindsey District Council's executive board unanimously agreed to end its involvement in the process.A spokesperson for NWS said: "We acknowledge and accept the decision made by East Lindsey District Council." In 2021, the district council joined a community partnership group with NWS to examine a previous proposal to bury waste at a former gas terminal in Theddlethorpe, near NWS later announced it had moved the proposed location of the facility to land between Gayton le Marsh and Great Lindsey councillors said the new location was prime agricultural land and significantly different from the former gas terminal leader Craig Leyland told the meeting the proposed site would have a "detrimental impact on the countryside", adding that the council's involvement in the process had "antagonised and distressed" local communities and residents."We have come to a decision point where we feel the best option for us to support our local communities is actually to withdraw from the process," he Adam Grist, portfolio holder for market towns and rural economy, said: "We were right to enter the discussions however many years ago, and we are right to withdraw now."I think the goalposts clearly moved this year," he added. Lincolnshire County Council remains in the process, but leader Councillor Martin Hill said the authority shared some of ELDC's concerns about the new authority has indicated it would pull out of talks unless it received "significant" further information about the GDF would see nuclear waste being stored beneath up to 1,000m (3,300ft) of solid rock until its radioactivity had naturally areas had previously been shortlisted by NWS - Mid Copeland and South Copeland in Cumbria and Lincolnshire, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
28-01-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Waste firm given go ahead to sue government over recycling scheme
A judge has ruled that a £166m legal claim against the Scottish government over the failed deposit return scheme can go effectively dropped plans for a Scotland-specific bottle return initiative in June 2023 following a dispute with the UK Waste Services, which had been hired to collect recycled containers, argued in the Court of Session that ministers assured it the scheme would go ahead - and lost out when it was denied the firm's arguments and said the case should be thrown out of court. Biffa, which is seeking up to £166.2m in reparations, says the government breached a duty of care and was negligent when it claimed the scheme was viable. Judge's ruling In a written statement, Lord Clark said ministers had been unable to convince him that Biffa's pleadings "do not disclose circumstances giving rise to a duty of care".The judge also dismissed an argument from ministers that even if the court did accept they had been negligent and had a duty of care, the case should be thrown out because Biffa's case was "irrelevant" to the legal arguments it said that to win damages the waste firm would have to convince the court there was a duty of care, that it was breached and that it caused financial would have to prove that the firm relied on a written assurance given by former Green minister Lorna Slater about the scheme's viability, and that this led to financial losses. Lord Clark said "questions remain" about the costs incurred by Biffa, and the amount of future profits it lost out judge said there should now be a full hearing to examine the arguments in more financial claim includes about £115m in projected profits over a 10-year contract with Circularity Scotland, a non-profit company funded by the drinks industry which was supposed to manage the collapsed with debts and liabilities of more than £86m when the initiative was is also seeking about £50m it said it spent in preparation for the scheme - including buying vehicles and specialist equipment, leasing vehicle depots, processing sites and taking on extra staff. What is the deposit return scheme? The deposit return scheme was a headline ambition of the former SNP-Green administration at Holyrood following the 2021 the plans, a 20p deposit was be added to all single-use drinks containers made of PET plastic, metal or glass. Consumers could reclaim the deposit by returning the containers to retailers or to specially-designed reverse vending was due to be introduced in August 2023 but the launch date was pushed back, with then first minister Humza Yousaf citing concerns from businesses.A further stumbling block came when Conservative ministers at Westminster refused to grant the scheme the go-ahead unless it conformed to a UK-wide approach excluding June 2023 Slater said she had no choice but to delay the scheme until at least October 2025, accusing the UK government of sabotage. She left government last year following the collapse of the Green-SNP power-sharing agreement. Scotland is not expected to have a deposit return scheme until October 2027 at the earliest, when the UK government aims to launch its own version of the scheme, excluding ministers are expected to align their return scheme to match Westminster's version, though Wales has pulled out of a UK-wide approach because it wants to include a freedom of information request, the Scottish government revealed earlier this month that it had spent £168,000 on legal fees related to the case brought by Biffa.A spokesperson said it could not comment on live litigation.
