LIB DEMS SLAM TORY ENVIRONMENTAL DOUBLE STANDARDS

12.00.00am GMT Mon 21st Jan 2008

North East Fife MSP Iain Smith and Cllr Elizabeth Riches, Deputy leader of Fife Council have hit out at the recent Tory double standards over waste collections in Fife.

After the recent proclamation from Conservative list MSP, Ted Brocklebank that St Andrews will "disappear" under a pile of rubbish when the alternate bin collection is brought in from the spring, the Conservative council group have welcomed Fife Council's "zero waste to landfill by 2020" policy.

Commenting on this bizarre turn of events, Iain Smith MSP and Cllr Elizabeth Riches said,

"The zero waste to landfill by 2020 policy is great news for both Fife and Scotland and we are pleased the Conservatives on Fife Council have welcomed this. However, Mr Brocklebank's recent comments appear to be both ill informed and in contrast to his colleague's position.

"On one hand Mr Brocklebank is insistent that there needs to be higher recycling rates, yet on the other hand he lambastes Fife Council's policy of alternate collections, which are proven to increase the rates that currently sit at 40% and look to further increase thanks to Liberal Democrat policy which is in drastic contrast to Labour's decision to scrap recycling in Fife a decade ago."

Cllr Riches further stated,

"Mr Brocklebank's comments regarding the accumulation of waste in Student properties are also ill informed as he will note that central St Andrews, with its high proportion of student lets and tourist profile has always been exempt from the alternate collections due to its particular waste management challenges.

"It is also important to note that those who currently have black bag collections will continue to do so.

"North East Fife District Council lead the way with recycling and I am very confident that the public will rise to the challenge and increase the recycling rates for Fife much further when these improved facilities are rolled out."

ENDS