GlosVAIN‘s long fight to make public the details of GCC’s incinerator contract with Urbaser Balfour Beatty (UBB) took a positive turn last week when the government’s Information Commissioner ruled that GCC must release the information, as a result of a Freedom of Information request made by GlosVAIN over 8 months ago.
Cllr Sarah Lunnon said “This decision has been a long time coming, I hope GCC now accepts that, as the bill payers, we have a right to see what we are buying and under what conditions. We can now see if the cost is too high and then have the right and the duty to cancel the contract to protect our countryside and instead fund high quality re-use and recycling”
Sue Oppenheimer, Chair of GlosVAIN said “We should soon know whether or not the Council’s claims of value for money from the incinerator and large contract cancellation costs are all hot air. We suspect that the information will support GlosVAIN’s assertion that the incinerator is a dreadful financial deal for Gloucestershire taxpayers. Available alternatives would be much cheaper, smaller, safer and more environmentally friendly. The Council’s obsessive secrecy has always made us suspect that they have something to hide and are seeking to cover up poor financial decision making, by delaying release of this information for as long as they possibly could.”
The ruling states that GCC must release the information by November 12th, however GCC have immediately said that they will appeal.
If and when the information gets released, it will be interesting to compare costs with the R4C proposal for a MBHT (Mechanical, Biological and Heat Treatment) plant which is claimed to offer a much lower cost and much greener alternative to incineration.