The politics of scrap

Last week at Gateshead full council meeting, we had a debate about banning bottled water to help protect the environment and make the borough a bit more sustainable. Sadly, Labour destroyed the motion, committing themselves to doing nothing to save the planet.

One of the speakers was Labour Councillor John Eagle who attacked me for having a Land Rover Defender. Just for the record, I do have a Defender. It is 27 years old. I use it for my agricultural activities. (See the photos above taken inside the Defender, accompanied by 3 sheep! and being loaded up with timber to build a quail house.)

Among the three adults living in our household, we also have a 1.1 litre Polo, and I used that vehicle on Thursday to go to the Civic Centre for the meeting.

Moving bee hives, goats, animal feed and equipment is somewhat challenging in a small Polo, hence the reason we have the Defender. We restrict its use to less than 3000 miles  a year.

Cllr Eagle, and his revved up colleagues constantly interrupted me about my Defender during my speech. They shouted questions about the vehicle being taken off the road because of its age. Such a move would be highly counterproductive. The building of a vehicle takes up a huge amount of energy and resources. So does scrapping it. The shorter the life of a vehicle is, the more likely it is that more resources, especially energy, are used to build the vehicle than were used to drive it. 

Within the waste hierarchy, reuse is at the top of the pyramid (above refurbish/repair and recycle). Given that my Defender is 27 years old and has had 6 previous owners, far fewer resources have been used than if it were replaced every few years. That's the more sustainable way to behave - reuse first, well ahead of recycle.

Scrappage schemes for vehicles are, therefore, encouraging overuse of resources which are put to use in an inefficient manner.

Perhaps Cllr Eagle should think about this when he drives to council meetings - in his gas guzzling Jaguar!

I was somewhat amused however a few days ago when a large vehicle from Gateshead Council passed me on Gateshead Road in Sunniside. It was a 22 year old Defender, with the Gateshead Council emblem on the doors!

One rule for Labour, another for the rest of us......