Clearing up waste management points

I would like to address the points raised in Mr Matveev’s letter published in your newspaper on Wednesday September 21 regarding Powerday and its operation in the borough.

Planning consent has not been given by Hillingdon Council for a proposed waste processing facility in West Drayton and no such waste operation exists.

The only thing that does operate on this site are the popular waste weekends once a month which the council has put in place for local residents, and this contract does not cost the council ‘millions’ of pounds. No recycling process operates from the site either.

The council has served a planning enforcement notice against an unauthorised skip and waste container transport operation undertaken by Powerday on part of the Tavistock Road site following resident complaints about night time noise. The notice has been appealed and the council cannot take further action until the appeal is heard by the Planning Inspectorate.

The council has three contracts with Powerday, as a compliant local provider of waste management services. There are three different undertakings between the council and Powerday and these are outlined below. All waste that is collected for Hillingdon in the conduct of these undertakings is taken to Willesden for processing.

The three contracts are: 1. Provision of waste disposal skips at various council sites across the borough 2. To provide and run the popular monthly civic amenity site in West Drayton for the benefit of residents in the south of the borough 3. The third, and main contract with Powerday, is to receive rubble and bulky waste from various council operations and to process this for recycling In each case the waste is sent for processing at the Powerday waste management facility in Willesden, which is a fully compliant site.”

JEAN PALMER Deputy Chief Executive and Corporate Director of Residents Services OBE