• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 14 November 2001

I'm sure you will appreciate that the politicians in Sutton were perhaps the most upset and angry about what happened there, but would you agree that Sutton's recycling figures, notwithstanding this problem, were nevertheless very considerably higher than most others in London? Sutton themselves would want to see their own figures go up, and so would the rest of London, by a huge amount.

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 14 November 2001

Can I ask how long this is going to take, because you know that the local authorities are now hard up against the line that they have to fulfil contracts and they have to sign contracts now. So how long is this going to take? And if I can quote you the first paragraph of this report we saw yesterday, which I thought was an excellent report and I think better than the ones we've been doing, 'There should be no presumption against incineration or against any recovery techniques and there should be a willingness to explore all options in...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 14 November 2001

And as I understand it, what you envisage is that more use of the new technologies would be something that hopefully could set people's minds at rest as to what happens to residual waste?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 14 November 2001

One of the things that the government has done is to set a target of some 45% of household waste to be recovered by 2010. Now recovered, as I understand it, for those purposes includes incineration.

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 14 November 2001

It follows from that that I imagine you wouldn't be minded to support further applications for incineration unless you were satisfied that the technology was safe and that the communities that might be affected by new incineration proposals were satisfied that they wouldn't suffer any detriment?

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 14 November 2001

Can I ask you, Mr Duffy, to keep more of an open mind on how we deal with residual waste because I think it's wrong to close off any avenue at this time. Now that's not saying that I'm for incineration, but just keep an open mind as to how it can be disposed of.

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 14 November 2001

Will you continue a dialogue with the boroughs, not only with ALG? Because they're going to be in difficulty, you have to appreciate that. The long-term contracts are cheaper and yet you are suggesting that they should have short-term contracts. And of course it's very difficult to get the infrastructure, to get someone to put up all that capital on a three or five year lifespan.

• Question by: Samantha Heath
• Meeting date: 14 November 2001

Would you say you're therefore getting selective information from GLA officials and the Executive Directors or are you pointing the finger at people in particular?

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 14 November 2001

So are you suggesting that if there is to be no market for recyclable goods because of perhaps a glut or something, then boroughs should in fact say to their residents, 'Well it's an enormously costly exercise to sort and collect and so on. Just tip it in the ordinary refuse as you would have done before the days of recycling.'

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 14 November 2001

What about the general point that I've just made to you about those residents who are very keen to collect recyclable materials, but if they discover that these recyclable materials are not actually being recycled at all how would you suggest that borough councils explain that to their residents?